With US stats over the last 150 years telling us that 85% of traders fail, we have a mountain to climb. Trouble is, however much learning and time we spend on our strategies, eventually the market will wear us down - even many of the successful ones, who will look for easier money from their courses and their signals.
Are the remaining 15% super heroes, trend or ranging traders? I think there is an extra element in their approach to success. which is a different mental mindset, that actively risks losing trades in return for finding the winning trades.
The key word is ACTION.
For those of us who insist on a number of confirming signals before making any trade - me included - we are favouring INERTIA instead.
What we could be doing is to increase our risk exposure to a level that won’t blow our accounts, but is more frequent than we are used to. Accepting extra losses is an emotional mindset that needs to be managed, by realising that Rome wasn’t built in a day. No pain, no gain.
Which could mean varying our lot sizes in accordance with our positive probabability of finding a winning trade. That is our starting point. We close losing trades early, never add to losing positions while seeking out the winners, and when found, add extra positions to these instead.
Bring up S/L to breakeven and trust our mindsets when and how we are going to close these profitable trades. Ideally, a trending movement is favourite, and S&R zones are cautionery - or whatever ACTION we have chosen.
This is guerrilla warfare at its finest. A psychological challenge.
BTW, I thank tradertom for his life trading history approaches - to which enabled me this post - his latest book to be released August.
Thanks for reading.
Steve