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Jerry Baker wrote:
> Some of you, long on this list, may recall some of my requests for
> suggestions regarding overcoming trading fears, afraid to pull the trigger,
> fear of any loss and the rediculous change in focus I make from system
> signals to involvement in tick by tick movement that takes place when my
> money is on the line. It has not changed....My fears, relative
> to the performance of the entry signals, are absurd, but they are a fact
> that I must recognize and work around at this point.
This is the *real* challenge in trading...I've definitely been there big time
in the past, and there's no doubt that I still could use improvement in this
area. I know traders who have been at it for a *very* long time who still have
this problem to a degree. Is there an easy answer to this? Of course, as
one's ability to pick good trades increases, we would expect one's confidence
to increase accordingly. Still, though, fear can continue to intrude on our
trading decisions, causing us to forego good trades, or exit too early.
Here's a suggestion that might help those who are really struggling with this.
First, decide what your average profit would be per trade if you acted on all
your good trading ideas and signals (this doesn't have to be anywhere near
exact, anything realistic will do). Whenever a trading opportunity comes up,
see it as COLLECTING rather than "risking." In other words, a good buying
opportunity arises, and you ask yourself - "Am I going to collect my $X here?"
Of course you are. Should the trade not deliver the $X, then you are "owed"
this amount in further trades - you will get paid for it later. On the exit
side, if you *don't* stick with the trading strategy as planned, you *won't*
collect your due, so you have to stick with it.
This might appear to be simpleminded, but it may help get your head straight
when you've got good trading ideas but are having trouble putting them in
action properly.
Regards,
A.J.
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