This is probably more for my benefit than for others, writing things down can clear the mind, but if someone can learn anything from this then at least it's not all in vain.
Over the last six weeks I've been consistently profitable for the first time in my trading history on a live account. In the last four weeks I've made 20% and as my account balance rose so did my confidence. Over the past three years or so I've never really been in this position and as of yet hadn't come across of the emotional side of winning!
Well that nearly came to an end today.
I will honestly admit I became cocky, too cocksure for my own good. I thought to myself that I had cracked trading and I was on the road to riches. I was swiftly brought back down to earth with a bump.
Trading is a "funny old game" and I've found out that you're competeing against yourself more than anything. I've got a strategy that I've been using during this rosey period. It generally gives about four signals a week.
During this time I've had discipline to only follow my strategy, if no signals are there then fine, always tomorrow. I've had patience. Even in losses it didn't affect me because there was always tomorrow and I had faith in the strategy I had written.
All until today. No signals all week. "This is rubbish" I thought to myself, the markets are killing it at the minute. So I tried to force my strategy into giving a signal that wasn't there. Tried tinkering around with it. Instead of waiting for the setup I tried to adjust it so it would GIVE ME a signal to enter.
All my discipline had gone out the window. I entered two positions and lost on them both... and rightly so. I needed to trade, no trades all week so I pushed it. Then I did the WORST thing you can do, and something I thought I'd learned from. I revenge traded. No signal, no nothing I just went long on the Aussie a complete punt and double my lot size. LUCKILY .. LUCKILY it worked out and I recouped the losses from this morning. LUCKILY.
Any newbies reading this..... if you have a system or a strategy, follow it. Keep your discipline, if it's a slow week then it's a slow week. At least you haven't lost anything, and there's always tomorrow. I'm telling myself this more than anyone else to be honest. I've heard and read this so many times myself, until you actually do it and make the mistake yourself you'll never know.
