Yeah, that's possible. Me being in the middle of it doesn't give me that perspective to say just step away. Maybe if I stick with it longer i'll reach that required pain threshold.:eek: (I'm kidding of course)
There you have it J... it can take time, just have to do it. You know I keep myself busy with homework assignments. Most always have one going on. This may not suit you at all, but it is an idea. When my niece asked me to teach her, I knew that could help me. I though about what I knew now and how I wish I'd been taught. I'm very clear that some of what I was taught was based on fear. I made a course of study for her... but then... of all things... I went back and started over again as if I was a new trader, a new student. I wanted to test it before I gave it to her. The thing was, I found places I'd just skimmed over. Things I should have done but just didn't get around to... that I was saying she should do! And the process of trying to put things into words that would at least help one from getting off tract -- that helped me be on more solid ground also. While I have the analytical process down, I'm still working on the psychology side. This has been going on for months and every now and then I've had to stop trading live because I'd changed enough in my perception or in fact corrections in my plan... that I just needed to sim trade if for a while first. If you can teach it, you learn so much. It is a different way of mastery. Can't tell you how much it has helped me, given me a solid presence as a trader. You might pick somebody you know to think how to teach them, what would it take to help them get it, and you never have to tell them. Just a thought. Sure it's not for everybody.
thanks Hooti. I've been looking at that. What can I focus on price- wise and me- wise that simplifies things. Starting to strip away a couple things or change how I look at them. I do over analyze. I keep reminding myself it's not about predicting. Probabilities over a series of trades managed consistently.
That's good. I've had that same thought before and agree that if you can't teach it you don't understand it yourself. There have been times I've written out questions to quiz myself on. I've thought about how I would teach a friend (don't become a trader ) or how I would teach myself if I could go back and do that. Mostly thoughts nothing written out except when I go back and clean up my plan. One thing I'd tell myself is : relax. just have patience and wait for these set ups and don't get nervous when price makes a pullback against you.
Glad you like the thought. The thing that did it for me was then going back and starting over as if I were the new student. The thing I had in mind along the way as a re-virgined student was those people who "got it" right off the bat and in months were profitable and just got better from there. How would they have been taught so as to not get side tracked? Then I taught myself. Which is something we all probably have to do. It seemed expensive to take the time to start over. It's like Abe Lincoln said, if you really have to cut the tree down in a hurry, spend 2/3 of your time sharpening the ax.
Nice of you to teach someone else and glad you learnt a lot while doing so, but it does come across it's a very me me thing. Did she ever get to learn anything too ?
Sorry about that, and your point is understandable. I'm just suggesting J has to teach himself. ............ edit: Actually you are right. Teachers can get more out of teaching than the students do. Things just go deeper for them. That is the point. Doesn't mean you don't care about the students.
So what I'm offering as one possible choice for J... Where Handle suggested taking 2 -3 months off. Don't go on vacation. Go back to school for perhaps 2-3 months. Take a few days and make up a curriculum. Then go back as a beginning student and work your way through it. Don't be in a hurry. Change and improve the curriculum as you go because you are the teacher also. I think NoD said she did something like this when she turned her trading around. I mention her because if I remember right she took about that much time. She may have described it in different words. It is just a way of thinking about it. But it may provide a framework that gives you a reason to do somethings differently, from a different POV, ...a different intent almost. If what you have been doing hasn't worked, try a different approach. Eventually you have to make it your own, especially with trading. Is the pain great enough that a change and this much time is worth it? Only J can answer that, and this is just one opportunity to chose from. Maybe there is just some little shift he needs to make.
There been times even after I learned to day trade where I took everything off computer and stuck it in a pile for later, and just started brand new, I even remembered I threw everything into fireplace(paper) when I was very close to starting to profit. It like staring fresh, new ideas and spent 3-6 months with all new, fresh start, fresh system, out with the old and in which the new. Did it again five years ago, the old got automated and the new was based on low losing percentages. After all these years, I still get 1-2 new signals a year that usually test out well, and always think why I didn't see that before. Think like taking a month off from trading altogether, you will still think, but let some of it just go away, then star fresh. It 100% better than churning same "Son of a bitch" times. LOL, teaching GF how to trade, she says it so simple, and makes sense, sometimes it is better to be dumb & pretty than smart & pretty and why so many fail at day trading.
Wow. Thank you for sharing that. NoD's apparently done it, you've done it... it is the way Susana starts her thread "after 4 years of losing I (basically threw out a bunch of stuff and started over)." I guess for many it's just the way it works. Reminds me of one of the better quotes ever on ET: "From Successful Anonymous Trader: You simply cannot have any confidence if you do not have a method or way of identifying trades along with money management guidelines. You're lost in the woods, so to speak. I was there for many years. What did I do? This may help a lot of you: I t h r e w o u t 99% o f a l l t h e c r a p I l e a r n e d ...about oscillators, divergences, Elliott Wave, cycles, timing, seasonals, Gann, pitchforks, volume, Fractals, RSI, stochastics, overbought/oversold (this is a good one--the stock indexes, currencies and cotton for example everyone said were overbought and topping in February and March this year). Look at what they did. Needless to say, I don't pay any attention to this anymore either, etc., etc. The list goes on to infinity almost. I went back to the basics. I went back to simple chart patterns, (a simple moving average and trendline now and then for a visual aid.) I came up with a low risk money management plan and put it together with trading with the trend and, presto, an effective and time tested trading plan. The plan is simple and has worked since trading began and will last me a lifetime. What a relief not to have to spend countless hours every night trying to find a new way to trade. I am sick and tired of that after 7-years. I believe at becoming an expert at one stock or market and its behavior and then putting all your skills and energy to work in a concentrated manner. Get good at that market and trade the heck out of it. Increase your size over time and you'll make more money with less effort. There are lots of professionals that do this. Look at some floor traders or locals that stay in the pit for many years trading one market exclusively. One thing that I have learned this year, is that I am trying to cut back on the number of trades I take and be more selective and not trade in congestion as much as I did before. I miss some good trades out of congestion, but I save myself a lot of mental energy, buy myself some more free time during the day, and get better and more profitable trades. My attitude is changing now to one or two good trades, and that is all I need to make my week ( a triple or a home run, so to speak). There are plenty of them during any given week. Trading is fun. Once you have a method and money management in place, it allows you to concentrate on trading and not on searching and researching. That gets old and frustrating. Make it your goal to find a simple method for next year. One thing that you can hang your hat on will last you a lifetime. Trading is simple. Remember that it's the Execution or Implementation of your trading plan that is the bigger challenge. Most people make finding the method a big challenge. That is because there is so much junk thrown at traders. They feel like a child in a candy store and have to try every doodad in the place. When they are done, they are sick and never want to see another candy store (trading gizmo) again. They could have had the plain piece of milk chocolate at the front of the store (simple method price patterns) which would have done everything they desired and fulfilled all their needs. I wish to all a great new year. I hope some will be able to end their journey in search of the holy grail or indicator that will turn their life around. Search for simplicity. You will be surprised what has been right under your nose all the time, right there in front of you on the chart or price bars. Pay attention to what they say...they will tell you everything. You need to listen and get to know them. It can be that simple. " ...... J, you are not alone.