I just do not know if I will ever be okay with it. I do a trade, even make 40-50%,,, and then had I held it would have made more. I know this is greed, I know that taking profits is the way to win. just not sure if I will ever be okay with it.
You probably don't have a strategy that you can back test. When backtesting, you can see all the times that profits were left on the table, and how this affects overall PnL. If you are trading a discretionary style then you just have to convince yourself of the same, that over the long run you will still make a killing taking profits the way you do.
We like to think about how we should have maximized the prior winner but forget about the times we got out "too soon" when if we instead held longer would have given back profits or even turned negative.
As much as we all strive for perfection, ya probably gotta learn to live with it. You can control your actions, but you cannot control the outcome of your actions. Stick with you plan and rest happy
I've always hated that expression "left money on the table". It implies you have a crystal ball or some other way of knowing the trade was going to keep moving in your favor. Terrible expression.
Not sure what you're complaining about. For most traders, it's the complete opposite: I didn't get out of my loser early and ended up with a huge loss. How should I feel okay about that?
Have you kept track of the number of times you closed the trade and then had the price move against you. If you followed your trading plan it's a good trade!!
Everyone says "let your winners run" but I prefer to say "have something in your pocket as soon as you can" Better in your pocket than on some unrealized green flashy number. I do take profits when I reach a level, normally a very modest one, regardless of what might happen later. It has made a difference for me. My trading is automated, so I am not sure if that would apply to a person staring at a screen.