Trading Psychology Mistakes

Posted on July 29th, 2010 by admin

Trading Psychology: Mistakes in a Trading Environment.

When it comes to trading, one of the most neglected subjects are those dealing with trading psychology. Most traders spend days, months and even years trying to find the right system. But having a system is just part of the game. Dont get us wrong, it is very important to have a system that perfectly suits the trader, but it is as important as having a money management plan, or to understand all psychology barriers that may affect the trader decisions and other issues. In order to succeed in this business, there must be equilibrium between all important aspects of trading.

In the trading environment, when you lose a trade, what is the first idea that pops up in your mind? It would probably be, There must be something wrong with my system, or I knew it, I shouldnt have taken this trade (even when your system signaled it). But sometimes we need to dig a little deeper in order to see the nature of our mistake, and then work on it accordingly.

When it comes to trading the Forex market as well as other markets, only 5% of traders achieve the ultimate goal: to be consistent in profits. What is interesting though is that there is just a tiny difference between this 5% of traders and the rest of them. The top 5% grow from mistakes; mistakes are a learning experience, they learn an invaluable lesson on every single mistake made. Deep in their minds, a mistake is one more chance to try it harder and do it better the next time, because they know they might not get a chance the next time. And at the end, this tiny difference becomes THE big difference.

Mistakes in the trading environment

Most of us relate a trading mistake to the outcome (in terms of money) of any given trade. The truth is, a mistake has nothing to do with it, mistakes are made when certain guidelines are not followed. When the rules you trade by are violated. Take for instance the following scenarios:

First scenario: The system signals a trade.
1. Signal taken and trade turns out to be a profitable trade.
Outcome of the trade: Positive, made money.
Experience gained: Its good to follow the system, if I do this consistently the odds will turn in my favor. Confidence is gained in both the trader and the system.
Mistake made: None.

2. Signal taken and trade turns out to be a loosing trade.
Outcome of the trade: Negative, lost money.
Experience gained: It is impossible to win every single trade, a loosing trade is just part of the business; our raw material, we know we cant get them all right. Even with this lost trade, the trader is proud about himself for following the system. Confidence in the trader is gained.
Mistake made: None.

3. Signal not taken and trade turns out to be a profitable trade.
Outcome of the trade: Neutral.
Experience gained: Frustration, the trader always seems to get in trades that turned out to be loosing trades and let the profitable trades go away. Confidence is lost in the trader self.
Mistake made: Not taking a trade when the system signaled it.

4. Signal not taken and trade turns out to be a loosing trade.
Outcome of the trade: Neutral.
Experience gained: The trader will start to think hey, Im better than my system. Even if the trader doesn’t think on it consciously, the trader will rationalize on every signal given by the system because deep in his or her mind, his or her feeling is more intelligent than the system itself. From this point on, the trader will try to outguess the system. This mistake has catastrophic effects on our confidence to the system. The confidence on the trader turns into overconfidence.
Mistake made: Not taking a trade when system signaled it

Second Scenario: System does not signal a trade.
1. No trade is taken
Outcome of the trade: Neutral
Experience gained: Good discipline, we only need to take trades when the odds are in our favor, just when the system signals it. Confidence gained in both the trader self and the system.
Mistake made: None

2. A trade is taken, turns out to be a profitable trade.
Outcome of the trade: Positive, made money.
Experience gained: This mistake has the most catastrophic effects in the trader self, the system and most importantly in the traders trading career. You will start to think you need no system, you know better from them all. From this point on, you will start to trade based on what you think. Confidence in the system is totally lost. Confidence in the trader self turns into overconfidence.
Mistake made: Take a trade when there was no signal from the system.

3. A trade is taken, turned out to be a loosing trade.
Outcome of the trade: negative, lost money.
Experience gained: The trader will rethink his strategy. The next time, the trader will think it twice before getting in a trade when the system does not signal it. The trader will go Ok, it is better to get in the market when my system signals it, only those trade have a higher probability of success. Confidence is gained in the system.
Mistake made: Take a trade when there was no signal from the system

As you can see, there is absolutely no correlation between the outcome of the trade and a mistake. The most catastrophic mistake even has a positive trade outcome, made money, but this could be the beginning of the end of the traders career. As we have already stated, mistakes must only be related to the violation of rules a trader trades by.

All these mistakes were directly related to the signals given by a system, but the same is applied when getting out of a trade. There are also mistakes related to following a trading plan. For example, risking more money on a given trade than the amount the trader should have risked and many more.

Most mistakes can be avoided by first having a trading plan. A trading plan includes the system: the criteria we use to get in and out the market, the money management plan: how much we will risk on any given trade, and many other points. Secondly, and most important, we need to have the discipline to follow strictly our plan. We created our plan when no trade was placed on, thus no psychology barriers were up front. So, the only thing we are certain about is that if we follow our plan, the decision taken is on our best interests, and in the long run, these decisions will help us have better results. We dont have to worry about isolated events, or trades that could had give us better results at first, but then they could have catastrophic results in our trading career.

How to deal with mistakes

There are many possible ways to properly manage mistakes. We will suggest the one that works better for us.

Step one: Belief change.
Every mistake is a learning experience. They all have something valuable to offer. Try to counteract the natural tendency of feeling frustrated and approach mistakes in a positive manner. Instead of yelling to everyone around and feeling disappointed, say to yourself ok, I did something wrong, what happened? What is it?

Step two: Identify the mistake made.
Define the mistake, find out what caused the mistake, and try as hard as you can to effectively see the nature of that mistake. Finding the mistake nature will prevent you from making the same mistake again. More than often you will find the answer where you less expected. Take for instance a trader that doesnt follow the system. The reason behind this could be that the trader is afraid of loosing. But then, why is he or she afraid? It could be that the trader is using a system that does not fit him or her, and finds difficult to follow every signal. In this case, as you can see, the nature of the mistake is not in the surface. You need to try as hard as you can to find the real reason of the given mistake.

Step three: Measure the consequences of the mistake.
List the consequences of making that particular mistake, both good and bad. Good consequences are those that make us better traders after dealing with the mistake. Think on all possible reasons you can learn from what happened. For the same example above, what are the consequences of making that mistake? Well, if you dont follow the system, you will gradually loose confidence in it, and this at the end will put you into trades you dont really want to be, and out of trades you should be in.

Step four: Take action.
Taking proper action is the last and most important step. In order to learn, you need to change your behavior. Make sure that whatever you do, you become this-mistake-proof. By taking action we turn every single mistake into a small part of success in our trading career. Continuing with the same example, redefining the system would be the traders final step. The trader would put a system that perfectly fits him or her, so the trader doesnt find any trouble following it in future signals.

Understanding the fact that the outcome of any trade has nothing to do with a mistake will open your mind to other possibilities, where you will be able to understand the nature of every mistake made. This at the same time will open the doors for your trading career as you work and take proper action on every mistake made.

The process of success is slow, and plenty of times it is attributed to repeated mistakes made and the constant struggle to get past these mistakes, working on them accordingly. How we deal with them will shape our future as a trader, and most importantly as a person.

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How To Cure Panic Attacks While You Sleep

Posted on July 28th, 2010 by admin

A wonderful and overlooked way to cure panic attacks is to focus on your sleep and to improve the quantity and quality of the sleep you’re getting. Try these 3 tips to do just that:

Okay, method number one is simply to eliminate negative thoughts that you have in your bedroom.

A significant percentage of all your worry takes place when you’re in bed, which is difficult to believe considering it’s probably the place where most people are at their most relaxed.

This problem probably affects you at night when you’re lying awake trying to sleep, during the night when you wake up, and in the morning when you’re awake but not up yet.

To stop these situations, you need to prevent as much of your “worrying in bed” time as you can. The simplest one to cure is the one where you’re lying in bed in the morning after you’ve woken up. All you need to do is get up as soon as you wake up!

I know this seems like an ultra simplistic solutuon, but you will be astounded how much worrying this cuts from your life.

Finding a solution for the times when you worry during the night after you’ve woken up is slightly trickier, but there are still good methods. To begin with, always get up out of bed if you’re lying awake for more than 10 minutes. If you stay there in bed, in the dark and the silence, it’s only going to make your anxiety get worse.

Another good thing to do is to have a warm bath, or simply to splash your face with warm water. Or perhaps just wander around your home for a few moments, possibly tidying a few things away. Then just go back to bed. This approach works because it recreates a completely natural way of going to bed.

This whole appraoch has to beat lying in bed for hours on end, with nothing to do but worry. And when you eventually go back to bed, you’re much more likely to drift off to sleep without any problems.

The second sleeping mistake to stop to help cure your panic attacks is to allow no more constantly-changing schedules.

By sticking to the same routines and times, you’re sleeping will improve, whatever the cause of your sleeping problems.

Your personal inner clock will almost immediately reset itself to the natural and healthy default if you just start going to bed and getting up at similar times each day. This will also normalise things like hormone secretion, which often depends on your sleeping cycles.

I bet you know that feeling that you’re totally burnt out, right? Well, that is sometimes a result of your adrenal glands being out of whack. One of the few ways to correct a problem like that is to get some good sleeping habits sorted out.

So do your best to go to bed each night at the same time, and get up each morning at the same time too. When you start out doing this, you may go through a couple of tough days while you get back into the correct routine, but it will be worth it. And also beware of sleeping in late on weekends, or days when you don’t have to be up early. All your hard work can be undone with a couple of late lie-ins!

The third method to get better sleep is to avoid all stimulants before you go to bed.

In my own case, a lot of the problems I had with my sleep were due to what I was exposing myself to in the time leading up to bedtime. I confess that I often watched fast-paced TV, listened to loud music, and played action-packed video games right up until I turned my lights off. Obviously this is a terrible idea.

So the first thing to do is eliminate anything stimulating for at least an hour before you go to bed. You should also not do any exercise at all for at least a couple of hours before bed. And try to develop a new pre-bed routine a “slow-down” routine, as I like to call it.

Go out of your way to slow everything down for the last 60 minutes before heading off to bed. If you have a favourite bedtime drink, this is the time for it. If it’s hot outside, maybe drink it in the fresh air. If it’s cold outside, curl up and drink it inside. But the bottom line is, relax.

These types of suggestions might seem simple, but do you ever genuinely give yourself time in this way? Even if you do, you probably don’t do it often enough.

If you like warm baths then incorporate that into your routine. Warm baths are known to promote deep and relaxing sleep, which is just the kind of sleep that cures panic attacks and fights off panic generally. A warm bath will be an excellent addition to your new “calm down” hour before bed.

tips for panic attacks

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Little Known Means to Assist With Anxiousness

Posted on July 28th, 2010 by admin

Presently, health professionals prescribe prescription medication for pretty much about anything at all. If you have complained to your physician about stress, you have been quite possibly suggested a prescription to help you control your nervousness. Before starting to use artificial medicines, try the next few simple ways to eliminate your anxiety.

1. Ensure that you’re having a sufficient amount of sleep. Normal sleep and receiving enough sleep are key components in being relaxed and feeling peaceful.

2. Don’t omit meals. Try eating three meals a day at regular times. This will help your metabolism be constant and will also affect the quality of your sleep.

3. Eat food abundant in elements acknowledged to have tranquilizing effects most notably turkey and bananas. Balancing your diet plans with biological food items will enable you to remove stress symptoms.

You should not settle for drugs like beta blockers for anxiety. Alternatively, consider long lasting and healthy solutions to your stress troubles.

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Overcome Fear of Spiders (self hypnosis audio)

Posted on July 26th, 2010 by admin

A phobia of spiders will probably be caused by one of only several factors. Frequently the cause of arachnophobia can be the shock of a 1 time learning encounter, a spider suddenly appears, you get a fright and from that point on spiders are associated with fear.

Should you happen to reside in a place exactly where spiders are poisoness a wholesome respect is important. Being completely unafraid could be harmful, but in most locations in the Western world, spiders are harmless to humans, so the fear is completely unfounded.

In fact spiders are usually really helpful, eating woodworm or flies which spread illness.

One from the reasons they often move so quick when they see humans is simply because they’re so scared of us, we are like giants to them. A spiders hair literally stands on end when confronted by a human, sometimes they even roll into a ball and pretend to be dead out of sheer terror. They truly don’t wish to have anything to complete with us. They just want to obtain on with their lives.

This hypnosis recording is designed to assist you to begin to reprogramme your mind to react in an suitable way around spiders. It’s unlikely you’ll discover to love spiders or maintain one like a pet like a result of using this recording! The aim is for you to not be bothered, to reside and let reside and if you saw a spider inside your house you would cover it with a glass, slide a piece of card underneath and carefully put it back outside where it belongs.

Overcome Fear of Spiders Self Hypnosis Audio

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Flirting – Is It Hard To Do?

Posted on July 25th, 2010 by admin

Once you are flirting with someone, it is great to be overconfident, but never too boastful. You do not wish for to come off as an self-important ass but you want to pose that you have coolness. Play with the person. Joke about with them. Humor is the easiest thing to carry to conversations and keep them energetic.

Do not make yourself appear too obtainable or easy. This will make her work harder and help build sexual apprehension. By performing this, you are ingeniously displaying your interest however telling her that she is going to have to have a say. If you are making her work for your awareness and approval, her interest will multiply.

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Flirting and How it can work for you!

Posted on July 25th, 2010 by admin

There are several aspects to the ability of seduction. After dealing with sincerely efficient seduction, most people do not make out what to achieve. Besides having self confidence, the skill of flirting is probably the most indispensable skill one must study. Flirting is an essential skill if you are going to pick up a girl.

The ability of flirting is used to form rapport with a person & help intensify sexual apprehension towards you. If a person does not feel well placed with you, you will comprise no probability to seduce them. Your main goal with flirting should be to escalate sexual tension. This will help build her attraction towards you and boost her interest.

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Star Sign Compatibility Everyone Must Know

Posted on July 22nd, 2010 by admin

Compatible Horoscopes is very important before you start dating an individual seriously. Watching out

for that Star Sign Compatibility will make sure she or he is the suitable individual for you personally. Individuals

showcasing distinct Horoscopes signs may sometimes end up being surprised to find that they’re much more

or even less ideal for their companion due to their personal Horoscopes signs.

Despite the fact that Aries is generally seen as quite an outgoing horoscope sign, it might occasionally create envy to their partner. In fact, those people who are an Aries may appear to be quite flirty while the truth is they’re merely being friendly.

More info Below.

Star Sign Compatibility

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How Do You Know If A Dating Site Is Good?

Posted on July 21st, 2010 by admin

How do you know, when you are trying to pick from the vast number of UK dating sites, which ones are going to have suitable people in them? After all, some sites are for just having fun, some are for online chat for cheap thrills, some are for meeting people for physical stuff, some are for younger professionals, some are for older divorcees. And for many of these sites, it is not terribly clear what exactly they DO offer. The first thing to do to sort through the pile, is to pick a good online dating review from your google search results.

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Why You Should Not Be Needy With Your Ex

Posted on July 21st, 2010 by admin

If you are a person that is insecure and is afraid of being without a mate, then you can be considered as needy. Being needy traps you from getting out and about when your mate is not around.
If you broke up and are looking to get back with your ex, you may have a difficult time. You will have to learn to get out of the trap that youre in and let go. When you are needy, you always feel like you need someone to talk to. Keep in mind that there will be times that you cannot talk to your ex. They may be busy doing other things at that time.

broken heart quotes

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How To Stop Panic Attacks In 3 Simple Steps

Posted on July 21st, 2010 by admin

It’s pretty obvious to anyone who suffers with an anxiety disorder that it’s extremely hard to stop a panic attack once it’s already started. There are, however, 3 speedy ways to stop one, and I’d like to share those with you now.

#1. The Paper Bag Trick:

Have paper bags with you all the time, or strategically placed around your house. Alternate your breathing 30 seconds breathing into the bag, 30 seconds breathing normally. Do this during an attack, or if you feel an attack is on its way.

It’s become almost a cliche these days to tell someone having a panic attack to breathe into a paper bag, but it really does work, and it’s a certain method to stop panic attacks.

#2. Don’t Suffer In Silence:

So during all panic attacks from this point on, make sure to turn on the TV or radio whenever that’s possible. Or maybe even try listening to something via headphones or earphones.

It’s common to feel like you’re losing your mind or losing control when you’re in the midst of a panic attack, and a silent or quiet room can make this seem even worse. Putting some added noise into the room will overcome this situation, and it will also help to “ground” you in reality.

If you also experience depersonalization with your anxiety, then you’ll find that this method helps with that too.

The third tip is called “Reassure Yourself Out Loud.”

For most of the time I had panic attacks, I only ever reassured myself in my head. But it’s actually much more helpful to reassure yourself out loud by actually talking to yourself. When you hear your own voice, it’s much more powerful.

I realized that the thoughts that only existed inside my head didn’t work well at all, and in some cases they actually made me feel worse.

Thoughts that you turn into out loud statements have more power and you’ll quickly see that your natural instinct to panic is greatly reduced when you hear yourself being reassuring.

So whenever a panic attack strikes from now on, tell yourself out loud that this is just another panic attack like all the others, and that it will soon be gone and you’ll feel safe and relaxed again.

Here’s a 4th bonus tip for you:

After you’ve had a panic attack, take a minute or two to write down how and what you thought during the attack. You can also use a voice recorder for this, instead of a pen and paper personally, I use a voice recorder, and it works very well.

If you do this a few times, you’ll soon realize that your attacks are all very similar, and all follow the same patterns.

And this is great, because once you know your patterns you’ll know what’s going to happen in all future panic attacks even before they happen.

This can almost single-handedly stop panic attacks because knowing in advance where your panic and anxiety are going takes all the scary unknowns away.

With your notes by your side, or your voice recording playing, you take the frightening unknowns away from your panic attacks, and that takes away a lot of their power too.

The method of writing or recording “panic notes” like this is one of the most powerful I’ve ever discovered, and I hope you’ll try it, along with the other tips I’ve shared with you.

tips for panic attacks

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