would like to see if anyone was in the same boat i am.....independent trader at home doing trading mostly intraday scalps and multiday holds every once in a while.....this is past week or so i've been finiding myself not following my rules and getting into posisitions that i normally would not be in causing me to take time away from other potentional movers.... traded DPHIQ FRPT UPDA NNPP NMKT WWAT CPNLQ today coulda made some good coin but not being disciplined made me get out of positions too early or sell to late when my risk profiles for each these positions were easily met.....so +1600 but if i followed my rules, woulda been +3400 what have any of you guys done to become more disciplined so as your not entering into bad trades/impulse trades consistent basis.
Plan your trades. Trade your plan. This is the only way you can evaluate your trades when they're done (which you do, right?). Was the error in the plan, or in the execution? How do you fix it?
I'll put it very plainly. If you don't have a plan...and if you don't trade the plan with discipline...you won't survive as a trader. But you already know that. Your problem is that you are not practicing what you know. You're in a state known as "cognitive dissonance". In conflict with yourself. It's a very common state of mind for newer traders. And if you're to move to the next step in your evolution, you have no choice but to come to grips with it. IMHO, this single ability - to gain mastery over your impulses - is what separates seriously profitable traders from pretenders. Which do you want to be?
Essentially, you have to really believe in your plan for any chance that your discipline holds over the long term -- you have to truly be convinced (aka completely understand why your edge works, not just by what the "numbers" say) that ANY deviation from your plan is detrimental (otherwise, you would incorporate it into your plan). If you constantly find yourself doing other trades you know you're not supposed to, it's an indication you don't really trust your plan to fulfill your needs -- it's likely that either you don't actually trust the validity of your edge, or you perceive your edge is insufficient for the goals you have set for yourself. Beyond that, if what you're doing is by all accounts valid and profitable, and you STILL keep looking beyond your normal parameters, then perhaps there are other issues involved -- a thrill-seeking impulse, a disdain for "trading by numbers" or mundane repetition, etc. Another more benign possibility if you haven't been trading your plan for very long is that you are still exploring for yourself, ensuring through experimentation that you are trading the best way that you possibly can. Just some thoughts off the top of my head.
Maybe the lack of discipline is your mind's way of telling you that you are tired of trading and want to do something else for awhile. Maybe it is time to take a vacation or take a nap or something.
could be that, but i think its more of the fear of missing out on every move, where my plan misses out on these moves that i shouldn't be getting in as they are less profitable in the long run
Be sure to let us know if you find the easy answer. I find I just have to remind myself of my major failings each day and then work to do more good things and wait through more of the bad things. Its not been easy but at least its more rewarding the better you do