“One of the keys to a trader’s success was not the results of a trade but rather how a trader reacted to the results of a trade.” – Dan Gamza
Why me? Why did this happen to me? Those are some of the questions that disturb losing traders. After a series of losses, some of them develop hatred for trading. Suffering that results from negative trades, drawdowns and margin calls can make people easily disappointed in trading.
Nonetheless, no matter how bad your trading is, it could’ve been worse. No matter how bad things are, there are still some reasons to be thankful, if you can think deep.
There are events that move the markets and which professionals focus on. These events often are filled with uncertainties, bringing profits and losses to people. Just some months ago, Greece was a hot topic, and speculators were mulling opening positions on the seemingly overextended markets, but some had serious misgivings. At times, the stakes may be higher than the rewards.
There Is Really Nothing Like Losses
There is really nothing like losses, for what brings losses to some people is what brings profits to others. The market moves up or down – not losing up or down. When you buy EURUSD and it goes up, you win (but a seller will lose). When you sell AUDJPY and it goes up, you lose (but a buyer will win). When you enter a direction in the market and it moves seriously in your favor, all those who go in that direction will make money, provided there are no wide differences in their entry prices.
What you call losses is what brings profits to some people. What you call profits is what brings losses to some people.
People Don’t Learn Their Lessons
Despite well-meaning efforts to solve the problem of loss, there are millions of traders around the world who’re still losing because of dangerous trading habits. People don’t learn their lessons.
During a funeral process, many attendees will be remorseful, thinking about the brevity of life and futility of wickedness, anxiety, love of money and so on. But once the funeral is done, you’ll see many of those attendees living their lives as if they’d not die again.
Too many traders lost in the past because they didn’t use stop loss on live and simulated accounts. When they come back to trading, you’ll see them using the same trading approaches that led to their downfall the last time, namely, high lot sizes and no stop loss. People don’t learn their lessons.
Traders who test new trading ideas on demos don’t use stops; and I wonder how that idea can survive on live accounts in the long haul, because they may apply it to a demo account once they’ve been lucky enough to gather some gains.
A Way Out?
After many years of grappling with the markets, traders who complained in the past may later show their gratitude; and for the fact that the markets cannot be blamed for what happen to them (though we may feel disappointed sometimes). There are days when they become sad, and they complain when they think of their seeming helplessness. Nonetheless, they’d have come to understand that the markets don’t set out to punish individuals.
Interacting with good traders as well as reading about super successful ones would’ve made them stronger psychologically and kept their spirits up.
Reflecting on a possibility of a risk-free trading approach reassures those who’re currently losing. Good trading coaches care about them, knowing full well that the end of their struggles is in sight. Focusing on such hope can give a trader the fortitude to endure certain negativity now.
Conclusion: Are you disappointed in trading? Well those who currently make loads of money from trading were once disappointed at some time in their careers. Those whose marriage is now successful were at one time, frustrated by their spouse. But these people, for example, profitable traders (as well as happily married persons), looked for solutions to their problems and apply those solutions faithfully. That doesn’t mean they’re luckier or better than others: that means they’re able to overcome the causes of frustrations and disappointment in their careers.
This article is ended with the quote below:
“Markets are people. So beating them asks for insight in what they are doing. And, perhaps more importantly, how they feel, because that will direct their future actions and, in the end, what markets will do.” – Dirk Vandycke
Nice thread very interesting and well done for you sir,
Hope to be good at trading and can't really control my emotion I panic a lot so I think that is one of the reason why I always lose some money in trading.
