I would say that staying calm during trading with real money may not be realistic. But I was one other person mention I play opera and symphony music and find that to be very very helpful while I’m trading.
The best thing would be to stay cautious, a disciplined trader knows that each trade is just another trade, so he always uses money management techniques and never uses over leverages and has Set-ups and rules which he follows seriously. It is important to learn to take losses in your stride and understand why the market moved against you and it is vital to get important trading lessons from your losses.
Probably now you know why it is said that don’t let emotions rule you in trading. What you feel is human , and happens with a lot of traders in initial stages ,(happened with me too). What i would rather suggest is to try and incorporate some meditation in your life, take a walk in between , don’t keep sitting in front of your trading platform. Practicing sometime on a demo account may also help . This way you will be able to test your strategies and figure out what is going wrong. May be you would have to change your trading strategy or your plan . What you must remember is to take it easy . You will learn from your mistakes only . Don’t get disheartened and enjoy the art of trading.
I think it is important to stay calm while trading for real.If you are having a bad run, the best thing you can do is to take a step back and let things cool down. If you force yourself to keep on trading then you can end up making wrong decisions.
Even i do that. But not every time. Sometimes I even go for a walk in between or simply shut my PC if am unable to keep calm.
You need an unfair advantage and a large account. You also have to know a bunch of dirty tricks. Advanced hedging techniques are great for controlling risk. You have to control the risk! (size of profit and loss) Trade management is one of the most important things. You need to be able to read the markets like a pro. Custom software, extra monitors, and lots of practice. These things make you have more confidence. Good traders will take a loss. They know that taking a small loss can be like a win!
It's plain and simple. Fear of [losing money]/[missing opportunity] shutdowns your "ability". Happens to everyone who trade except to those who never lose.