Im sure many have gone through this before and this topic is redundant but just want to know how some got over it…
So I have a trading strategy that Ive developed over 2 yrs and I know it works. Total confidence in strategy but no confidence (scaredy cat in other words) in trading… How do you get over it?
If you truly believe your strategy works, place your trades in, and DO NOT talk yourself out of it. Place in your TP & SL and walk away from the computer if you have to. Once you see your account grow, maybe that’ll ease your psychology a bit
Also, try demoing. The psychology may not be the same, however, you can see the performance of your strategy. Better results = more confidence.
The emotional aspect of trading is something which 99% of us deal with- so don’t feel alone.
Fear/Greed of missing out on a trade (going long @ the top of a bullish move/short @ the bottom of a bearish move); fear of losing money (closing a profitable trade out too early, letting losers “run” in hopes of them turning around); etc etc.
The purest form of confidence can not be external. It [B][U]needs[/U][/B] to be internal.
Aside from trading, what type of hobbies do you partake in?
Do you exercise, meditate, train in a martial art? These are all activities which require immense mental discipline. Sometimes in life, when you focus only on one aspect of building up mental strength (Say, mental strength to trade)- it’s not enough.
You need to support that mental discipline by partaking in non-trading activities which boost your confidence.
Make sense?
I agree with Nykevin, if you really trust your strategy place your trades accordingly. It might help you if you start it in a micro-account with a smaller deposit as well as lot size so that you can see your strategy performing in front of your eyes.
warpfaktr5,
How about starting with “ridiculously” small sized positions. As you gain confidence, slowly increase the position and risk?
Below I’ve posted a quote from Chapter #6 of a great trading book titled, “Zen in the Markets” by Edward Allen Toppel.
[I]
“Weight lifters gradually put more iron on the bar. They don’t suddenly go from one hundred to three hundred pounds. They go in small increments. Our minds are very much like muscles. They can handle only a gradual increase in the risk that we assume in the market. [B]Too sudden a shift in risk size disturbs our equilibrium and sense of the market’s ebbs and flows[/B].”[/I]
PS Google around a bit, you might stumble on a freebie “Zen in the Markets” PDF :eek:
D-pip, this is one of the best reads around.
Many here will not agree with Toppell on a few points, well maybe 2 points specifically, firstly his opinion on charts.
One important point that he makes is on that silly saying that we all see so often of “buy low and sell high”.
Being a ‘scaredy cat’ in the market is a healthy sign, some years ago I lacked such “fear” - I now recognize it was lack of respect for the market, so I paid for that and learned.
Now I too am a scaredy cat, but I have replaced the fear that I felt after the loss with respect.
Confidence in your market participation comes with experience, but always carry the respect. 
BTW chapter 7 is brilliant !
Simple, I went live on small account and traded more…the paradox is that confidence in trading only comes from trading more, not less…
And of course, keep track of all trades and figure out what went wrong with the bad ones…good luck
Thanks for the feedback everyone. You guys are awesome !
I’ve been exactly where a lot of you have been. I’ll be honest, the fear comes from losses in the past, I mean big losses. Apparently I didn’t have enough respect for the market and paid for it big time, just like you peterma. I have virtual account and have seen and recorded the results. Forexunlimited, it’s funny you mentioned external vs. internal confidence, I was just watching a youtube video on that last night. Definitely will consider taking on new hobby. Right now I’m just worker by day, trader by night, with hopes of quitting job someday and becoming one of those rich FX millionaires we never hear about…Yes, I’m naive = D
Thanks again for the responses
You overcome fear by practising your trading method and money management in a demo til you have enough information from using the demo to go live. That’s different for everyone and there is no time limit as to when you have to do that. Remember most people are scared not scared by what’s in a dark room; there mostly scared of the dark room it’s self. So what do you do; you approach the entry of the dark room with caution, you use your experience to look for a light switch and go slow til you find one. Same with trading. Hope that helps
Gp
I will agree with Nykevin94 and TheLastBear, If you trust your strategy then just start trading with small amount of money. This way you have nothing to be scared for you will just test it your strategy with small risk and later on you can slowly increase your trading volume.
Try this, every trade is a 50/50 bet, reach into your wallet and lay out how much you are willing to lose, then try not to lose it, if you do put it into a replacement stack, then try to make it back.
more like a personal challenge thing for me i guess.