I know what I'm doing and I understand the game. And it takes a lot of discipline and mental strength. And then all of a sudden, it's like I get a voice inside my head that makes me do something hastily and completely stupid. WTF. Anyone else battle something like this?
I keep my daily MANTRA for self-talk on my computer screen to avoid the voices talking in my head. Unfortunately my staring at the screen does not make the market do anything, therefore, once I'm positioned, I walk away from my desk or play chess. It works for me.
I like that. It definitely doesn't help to stare at prices to death and is good to step away. I think I need my mantra to popup and invade my headspace every hour. Lately it's been something different every day, but always something that defies common sense along with the lessons I've learned over time, which almost suggests I haven't learned anything.
actually it's a lack of experience and hardwork to fully understand what if any edge there exist. circus performers do their routine with their eyes shut. traders will put on a blindfold run across the freeway and if they live, shout up and down look how brilliant i am!
I'm long on experience, hard work, and understanding, but short on mental health at times it seems. I think one misconception can be that things get easier mentally over time, but I never struggled with things like this when I started out, and now my understanding and approach is millenniums beyond what I started with. But again, this is not about understanding and following it, but sudden urges not to.
Here's the quick way to treat your FOMO urges: Flip the chart upside down. Seriously, there's no such thing as FOMO or YOLO trades. Opportunities show themselves everyday. I used to be like you, always in need to be in a trade at all times. But today's just one more day among many days to eke out profits. Even in a rangebound market, there are opportunities. Don't listen to these FOMO and YOLO clowns on social media. Trading is not about making a quick killing. It's more about consistency, long and steady.
FOMO...damn I looked it up and I think that's what blindsides me. I can detach from that all day and then BAM...wtf did I just do? It's not social media but price watching and the analytics in my head suddenly going on vacation. I think part of my problem is that as I've increased understanding over time, I've found what works for me is simply counter-intuitive and counter instinctive to me, which is mentally much more difficult, and I battle the old me that used to act on instincts productively with less intense analytics, and the new process that will shred me if I disregard analytics and just rely on old instincts (especially when FOMO hits me, which I seem to get hypnotized into without realizing it.)
Speaking of your old self, think of it this way. Suppose you had to start all over from scratch with a limited capital (say, $5,000). Now, do you think you can trade like you do today with only that amount, especially when you have family of 4 or more? Think of your loved ones. They depend on you.
For sure, I hope it would be different. I've thought of this before. I don't have a massive account but it's more than I need to do what I'm doing and may just reduce it for that reason until I feel this is resolved.