Yesterday, I was cocky, because I made a lot of money. Today, I lost it and then some. The stock took an unexpected turn of manipulation. It was the perfect earnings winner. When it kept going down, I stayed in it and lost $1,000. I figured it was market manipulation and that it would go back up. I was wrong. My point is that I ignored my own rules and didn't get out when a stock doesn't do what I want no matter what. Now, a wise person would have stepped away from trading. What did I do, I tried to make it all back and lost more. I refuse to become a statistic. Now, I know the rules. That is not what I am asking. How does one do what they know in trading and not let their emotions take over? Thanks in advance.
"A trader's number one enemy is his emotions." Traders have been told time and again to keep their emotions in check. Being vulnerable to your emotions can have negative repercussions in trading, as your concentration and decision-making process can get skewed. But think about it for a second. When do you feel most stressed? Is it during those times when you're trading poorly? If you answered "Yes!" to the second question, then congratulations, you are a normal human being. Emotional stress is a natural result of poor trading performance. This happens when traders fail to manage risk properly or trade without any objective edge in the markets. What results afterwards is a vicious cycle where one's negative emotions can damage trading performance. Always remember that trading is a performance field, wherein success is a result of a combination of talents and skills. As with discipline, control over your emotions is a crucial factor but it's not the only ingredient to success. Mastering trading psychology simply dictates how consistent you are with applying your talents and skills, but it cannot replace those factors.
To paraphrase a trader from CL Redux, "after 10,000 trades, you're pretty much numb to anything." Of course, there are still those moments of excitement and of agony. And there's always a good deal of frustration as the market does its thing. WTH am I talking about? Seriously, over time, you just calm down. It is part of the maturation process of a trader. It took me 7 years to figure out what I wanted to do and to start to master it. And there's always room for improvement. Your trading will never be perfect - more like dirty and ugly if you're good. And there's never any guarantee that your success will continue. Live with that knowledge. You have to learn to live with this reality. If you expect easy, perfect trading, then you are that statistic. If you can't calm down, then you are that statistic. Try to control your emotions. You can't, really. You are what you are.