How to treat the 'cannot pull the trigger' symtome

Discussion in 'Psychology' started by ADX_trader, Feb 19, 2003.

  1. dbphoenix

    dbphoenix

    Again, you haven't addressed the drawdown issue.

    --Db
     
    #31     Feb 19, 2003
  2. This could simply be an ego problem, he is afraid to pull the trigger because he knows he will feel lousy when this is met with failure. He may not be as much afraid of losing $2,000 as of simply losing a single trade. A single trade can sometimes be more important than $2,000.

    Ego is not rational.
     
    #32     Feb 19, 2003
  3. Yes. Ego is hard to handle. I hope I was a Robot! Then it is easy to trade.:cool:
     
    #33     Feb 19, 2003
  4. Have you explored the possibility of trading a different market? Maybe T-Notes are not right for you. In addition, have you considered trading a different time period? If you are day trading, perhaps longer holding periods would make it easier for you to trade, or vice versa.

    I read "The Nature of Risk - Stock Market Survival and the Meaning of Life" by Justin Mamis a while back. That book helped me with pulling the trigger. At least in some respects.

    Good luck,

    Banker
     
    #34     Feb 19, 2003
  5. bobcathy1

    bobcathy1 Guest

    Fear of pulling the trigger happens to everyone.
    Especially when one has had a prolonged drawdown.
    Not easy to trade at all.

    But it is like getting back on the horse once it has thrown you.

    And there were a lot of great answers already.
    You need to treat it like a new business,
    the first few years you are lucky if you break even.
    But in the end you will find out how to make it profitable.

    You might change vehicles, or times of day or make new charts. But in the end you just might make it work.

    This is my 4th "business". They all had points where I questioned if it was for me. Electrolysis was worse than trading. :) :)
     
    #35     Feb 19, 2003
  6. Actually, I moved from stocks to futures and fom position trade to day trade. I am sure holding a position overnight isn't for me. I like a market that is smoother and liquid. I feel TNotes/TBonds are not as choppy as other markets, although I can't prove it.
     
    #36     Feb 19, 2003
  7. Banjo

    Banjo

    You may be simply encountering two great truths. All the worlds a stage and we are the clowns. Nothing is more demonstrative of this than the markets. One day the realization comes to the fore of your awareness that you have absolutely no control over any portion of this game. The game itself is in fact insane. A bunch of expensive suits telling us the supposed value of pieces of paper we never even see that represent a portion of value of some entity whose true value or circumstances is unknown to us and those that do know are lying through their teeth to protect their own positions. If we accept this state of affairs and decide to continue we line up at the gate in our respective stalls with the other willing participants and wait for the bell. Then we try to get a handle on where it's going, what are they doing, why is it doing this or that? We realize we really don't KNOW anything, we are simply gambling. Arriving at this state of awareness that not only are we gambling but we are gambling on bullshit handed to us can be unnerving, freak us out and lead to paralysis. As traders evolve they go through states of awareness of what the game really is. A trader has to be comfortable knowing that he is playing a truly insane game. He has to recognize that he can never know all the realities he would have to know to feel comfortable in a sane sense, buying a piece of real estate for instance. He has to know his every move is a gamble.
    Take some time and decide if you are comfortable gambling for a living, because that's what you are doing. If you settle into recognizing that and believe you can successfully find a way to duel with the market you must develope an edge. The markets move, all edges must accomplish the same end, capture some of that movement. Good luck with your evolution.
     
    #37     Feb 19, 2003
  8. The way I help myself overcome this fear is first I simply place limit orders way far from the market price, and cancel them. This helps me get comfortable committing myself to placing orders. Then I tell myself that it is highly unlikely that if I open a position it will be at the all time low/high and will go against me hence forward untill the end of times.
    It has to at some point swing into profit.
     
    #38     Feb 19, 2003
  9. Yeah, he simply has to treat himself less seriously. I know that's not so easy, but if you cannot look at yourself from some perspective, you will not be able to relax enough to pull the trigger.
     
    #39     Feb 19, 2003
  10. Lancer

    Lancer

    ADX,

    For each trade, consider your stop-loss to be the amount of money necessary to ante for a chance at a winner. If you adhere to your stop-loss rules, then your stop-loss is really all you have at risk, so there's nothing to fear. Be perfectly willing to give up the amount of your ante every time as you enter an order, and you'll be OK.

    Also, think in terms of probabilities and a winning percentage instead of 100% perfection. It's a natural law of trading that you will not be right every time; don't fight it. You say your system paper trades really well. For your system to work, you must enter a quantity of orders every day. Accept that you'll win some and stop-out some, but with a winning percentage, you'll be profitable over the course of the day.

    Stopped-out trades are just an unavoidable normal cost of doing the business of trading. You can't run a business for free, fearful of every little cost, and you can't avoid something that's unavoidable. Just limit your per-trade cost to your stop-loss, accept that small amount of risk every trade, and move on to entering orders and making money. Don't hesitate to make money and feel great about it when your system gives you a signal. After a number of winning trades, fears and hesitation will subside.

    I highly recommend that you read this book:

    Trading in the Zone : Master the Market with Confidence, Discipline and a Winning Attitude
    by Mark Douglas
    http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...f=sr_1_1/103-9395705-9886236?v=glance&s=books

    It addresses your issue and a lot more.

    Good luck.
     
    #40     Feb 19, 2003