I think this is the thing bothering me the most. I'm smart and I have good discipline skills in other parts of my life. I just don't get why I can't transfer them to trading.
I would say: you not trust your trading or your judegment. the market is full of shit. always there is people try to pick bottom. I was fooled by it many times. I did the same thing as you did today. I shorted the morning jump of YM ( already see dow will be 5000 very near, what the fucking of me got out at 6850! still there is 1500points gain ahead), bought FAZ in the morning dip, I tried very hard to hold them, but very funny, when i saw those little up/downs, I got out with minor profits (half the big movement), not too bad, but still bad, that means I bought the market in the trending down! you are not alone. that is why this game is hard! since we are deal with uncertainity.
Start a trading Diary ... noting why you pulled the trigger and stick with it... then you will see and learn something about yourself.
If your mentor didn't drill into you the simple rule "The Trend is Your Friend", then you had either a very shitty mentor, or you weren't listening. Pull up any chart longer than 10 minutes and the trend is very clearly down, down, down...until further notice. Hard to imagine by what reasoning you were looking for long trades in the most negative market environment in many years.
News flow was bad today. The market is being pulled like a magnet to sp 700 and dow 6800 taking long trades in todays session with the market is clearly being pulled down is backwards thinking. What helped me more than anything in my trading is i only play Support and Resistance. If the market isn't trading my level i sit around and watch the price action. Only took seven trades today and i think thats a lot. My advice is be patient. Only play high probabilities. If your playing poker with your friends are you going to raise 2, 7 off suite?? or are you going to wait for pocket pairs? Trading is very demanding mentally. Im sure your mentor has told you all this. so your plan in tomorrows session should be staying focused. its ok to pass on trades. take only a few trades to get in sink with the market. if those are losers then stop and paper trade.
but not like you, thought to short, end up to go long. that is because you do not trust yourself. you need firmly accept trading is just odd's game, if you have a firm plan, i thought you should be ok. in your mind, you want every trade is a winner, that is impossible. i thought 70% time winning even 50% time winning with good R/R is very good.
The first things any trader must master are cutting ones losses and trading both sides of the market both long and short. People have trouble trading the short side. People have extensive inherent difficulties with both theses skills. Cutting losses and trading the short side Also everybody and their brother thinks they can become a successful trader. That is completely false. I have no illusions that I could become a successful surgeon, scientist, engineer etc....but everyone thinks they can trade in part due to the ease of entry into trading these days. If you haven't been able to easily master both these areas by now then I believe you will continue to struggle and suffer losses. Trading is really something you have a knack for or you don't.
What is your risk/reward ratio? That is the key to successful trading. With that, you can make a ton of cash with a mediocre system. Best of Luck!
Thanks for all the constructive replies and like I said, in the last 3 years I've tried it all with special emphasis on the psychological aspects of this business but nothing has worked. Diaries Daily written out trading plans Mantra's Meditation Breathing exercises etc, etc... Some days I feel seriously feel like I'm hypnotized and it always looks completely obvious at the end of the day.