Today I got some much needed good news capturing a little over 100pips during my day-trading. I'm not defining the day as good simply because I made money, but rather because this positive outcome helped to get me out of the little funk I was in. Last week my day-trading system lost money each day, and to top that off I woke up this morning to see that I was stopped out of two swing trades that I placed late last week. I tend not to get upset over getting stopped out, but on both pairs it was one of those instances where I got stopped out by an impulsive wick, only to see the market retrace in my favor. I doubled checked where my stops were at this morning and they were well protected so it's just one of those bad luck deals.
It's funny how much your mood can affect your trading. Because of this "funk" I was in, this morning I even decided to not do my normal market analysis for the pure fact that I felt as if my mind would make up something and I'd end up revenge trading. Add that to the fact that it's the final week of the month and I'm currently in the red, I felt that this was the smartest path to take. While debating whether to trade or not I had to remind myself that trading is a marathon and not a sprint. Meaning that taking (and maybe getting lucky on) 1 or 2 trades now will have no effect on my long term future as a trader. And actually it would probably hurt me. If I win, then it will be in the back of my mind that I can make dumb decisions and still make money, and if I lose, then I lose money on a trade that wasn't necessary to take and I end up beating myself up even more. Trust me I've done this before (having both outcomes) and it didn't end good either way. Luckily for me my day-trading strategy is signal based at the moment so I have no opinion on whether I should be in a trade or not.
Traders often deal with a lot of numbers, ratios, news and a bunch of other stuff. But all of that means nothing if your mind isn't in the right place. If you're ever feeling down, depressed or just unfocused I suggest getting away from the market. Go for a run, listen to music, go workout, do something. But if you're not focused then the market will eat you alive.
It's funny how much your mood can affect your trading. Because of this "funk" I was in, this morning I even decided to not do my normal market analysis for the pure fact that I felt as if my mind would make up something and I'd end up revenge trading. Add that to the fact that it's the final week of the month and I'm currently in the red, I felt that this was the smartest path to take. While debating whether to trade or not I had to remind myself that trading is a marathon and not a sprint. Meaning that taking (and maybe getting lucky on) 1 or 2 trades now will have no effect on my long term future as a trader. And actually it would probably hurt me. If I win, then it will be in the back of my mind that I can make dumb decisions and still make money, and if I lose, then I lose money on a trade that wasn't necessary to take and I end up beating myself up even more. Trust me I've done this before (having both outcomes) and it didn't end good either way. Luckily for me my day-trading strategy is signal based at the moment so I have no opinion on whether I should be in a trade or not.
Traders often deal with a lot of numbers, ratios, news and a bunch of other stuff. But all of that means nothing if your mind isn't in the right place. If you're ever feeling down, depressed or just unfocused I suggest getting away from the market. Go for a run, listen to music, go workout, do something. But if you're not focused then the market will eat you alive.
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