Right.. they're not.. But where do I begin?? Not really expecting an answer here... just trying to talk myself thrugh this.. I have my trading plan set out.. not written down in the detail it needs to be though.. that probably should be the 1st step.. Then.. I need to figure out why I do the things I do.. meaning.. why do I take trades near the open when I know that my best setups come at least 20 minutes after the open.. and why did I jump long on the Euro this morning when my rules say to not trade the Euro once it becomes volatile as it did at 10:00 est.. but then again.. this is not written down.. its in my head.. Why do I procrastinate in regards to my trading?? Do you ever feel like you have all the answers.. you have the ability.. you have the know how.. now its just a matter of doing it.. sorry.. this is Matrys' thread and I'm throwing it off topic..
I don't know that it's off topic, but it's not the sort of thing that I'd suggest going into on a message board. Self-analysis is not impossible, but it is difficult. At the very least, it requires a level of honesty that many people can't reach without outside help. So you may want to think about that.
It's OK. I have the same feeling. I think these are my hurdles: 1) Unrealistic metaphors: I read way too many market wizard books and the thing I pick out is the deadly image of a perfect trader who has special power, emotions under control and rarely has teeny draws. Far from reality and being practical. This has been causing me harm and hidden stress from day one. I think a metaphor using one of our great trading day is more accurate and appropriate. 2) Reflexive Response: Remember the bell and the dog saliva experiment... I hate to admit it... I have been programmed. Just today, I put on a trade based on a setup I threw out the window weeks ago and my bigger mistake is not to scratch it right away. I don't know how many snake-oil pattern has been etched in my head from reading all the crap. But I know when my awareness is low... they are ready to jump out. The only way is keep my awareness on guard or correct the problem immediately once I become aware. 3) Reprogramming: We are only comfortable to redo the same old things. I remember ordering the same item that I did not like from the same menu when my head is not clear. Trading sometimes requires one-pointed focus and looking at the bars too closely will induce light hypnotic trance. This mean we can internalize and put in a lot of negative pattern and self-talk into our subconscious. It is just going to be uncomfortable to give up old patterns and take on new ones. It will take time and efforts and active record keeping for reprogramming. This reminds me the movie groundhog day. The movie never said how many tries it took Bill Murray to fix it and he does not have to worry about paying tommorrow's bill.
"I trade, therefore I am" Samurai Trader's maxims: 1 We do not see things as they are,but as we are 2.The greatest warrior is one who conquers himself 3.THe ideal action is one that leaves not a split second between the urge to action and the action itself 4.Expect nothing, be prepared for everything 5. Focus on your purpose 6. The Warning: Those who know do not talk.Those who talk do not know. Thoughts of Rev. Sunnan Kubose If i find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn't lead anywhere pessimism never won any battles The direction we are facing has to do a lot with our destination Enjoy!!!
While I appreciate the wisdom of some of these, others seems like Zen bumper-stickers. I hope "Samurai Trader" has given them a bit more thought . . .
could be in line, cause your focus is either on trading or on sleeping but it could be wise to split trading further up - where do you put your focus here? best, cosmic
Going over what's been posted so far, I'm wondering if we whipped through the first 12 rules too quickly, particularly #6, which would be ironic since most of them have to do with patience. :eek:
We can always go back and we should when we have new thoughts and definitely the new visitors to this board should post their thoughts on the old posts. We need everybody's inputs here. Would you like to add comments on rule #6? The only purpose of this board is to really lay out our thoughts and focus on the loopholes... and internalize those rules that proves to help. I don't care what it takes to get to this goal. Please post anything no better how far out or how far back... I don't want to fight and stress out trading til my old age. I want to turn this into a different kind of journey so when I die I can say "It's been fun and it has not sucked my life out... but it actually made my life fuller as I confront and fix myself in every way." I know it can be achieved because many biographies of the 84 Mahamudra siddhas all point to the fact that they attained perfection while performing mundane tasks. I just want 1% of their results - 1% trading closer to my wisdom.