Patience and Discipline in Trading

The value of patience and discipline in Forex trading cannot be overstated.  In order to be a successful trader, you must possess these two traits with unwavering consistency.  As I have gone through various phases of learning, failure, and success over the past 17 months, I have had moments and weeks where I have been extremely patient and disciplined.  However, maintaining that unwavering consistency has been one of the biggest challenges in my trading.

Lately, for a little over a month now, I have finally started to exhibit some reasonable level of self control.  I realize I have not yet absolutely mastered these essential survival skills.  Even during the past month, I experienced back to back days where I allowed myself to over-trade (the only two truly bad trading days I have experienced since mid-May).  As such,  I am constantly seeking new thoughts and inspirations for how and why to maintain steadfast patience and discipline.  I believe I am starting to turn the corner.  I find that I am no longer easy prey for the market.  I now lie in wait and take quick small bites out of the market.

So, what has been working?  What is helping me maintain my patience and discipline?  I go through a routine before each trading session.  The first thing I do is look at the lot ladder.  I must warn you, without the right mindset, this can be a double-edged sword.  The lot ladder allows you enter the number of pips you expect to average per day (along with some other variables) and then see how much money you will be making each week if you climb the lot ladder one rung at a time.  The reason this is so dangerous is that you can make the mistake of raising your daily pip goal so that you can make huge money so much faster.  This is completely counter-productive as it leads to over-trading, not covering profits, etc.

However, I have set my daily pip goal at the Fx365 Institute's long-time suggestion of just 7 pips a day.  Once you have been trading on the Smart Money Profile platform for some time, you know this is truly a modest goal.  Before any trading session, I look at where this highly obtainable goal can take me.  Here is a screen shot of what one part of my lot ladder looks like:

I take a few moments to really focus on the truth that averaging just 7 pips day turns a $1,000 account into a $20,000 a month income in a ridiculously short time frame.  I mean, this is incredibly powerful stuff.  It helps me cover smaller trades rather than trying to swing for the fences.  I still need to get better at not caring if the trade runs another 30, 50, 100+ pips.  It's tough knowing that I could have made my whole week on one trade, or hearing that someone else pulled a 40 when I had better entry and only pulled a 10 or 20.  However, I come back and look at the lot ladder again and realize I only need 2-4 of my modest winners a week.  I have to always remember, trading is a long-term race.  By taking those smaller positives, I avoid taking negatives that make it harder to reach my goal.  Then, at the end of the week when I have made my goal and am moving up the lot ladder again, I am one week closer to the financial freedom that $20,000 a month brings.  Isn't that the whole idea?

My other monumental struggle has been to avoid over-trading after taking a negative.  Now, although I am making significant progress towards trading at indifference, there are still times when I take a negative trade and literally feel the stress prickling through my body (what a horrible feeling).  When this happens, I absolutely must exhibit tremendous discipline and STOP TRADING until I have calmed down.  If I look at where I want to be by the end of 2015, I ABSOLUTELY CANNOT ALLOW MYSELF TO DAMAGE MY ACCOUNT.  

At those crucial moments, I lean on something Fx365i's Head Trader Wade Guth once told me.  He asked if I was planning to trade tomorrow.  I said yes.  He asked if I was planning to trade next week.  I said yes.  Next month, next year, etc?  Yes, yes, and yes.  So he asked me, "Why on earth would you get worked up about one trade or one negative day?"  I also reflect on Shane Guth recently telling me that the biggest thing he NEVER wants to do is let one bad day cause him to lose his buying power.  Live to fight another day!

Over this past month, I have also started telling my wife how my trading went each and every day.  She has believed in me and allowed me to stay on this journey despite several months without positive results.  Believe me, it is not easy to tell her when I am down for the day.  However, when I have taken a couple of wrong trades and walked away with relatively small losses, I can proudly tell her I kept my discipline and didn't throw money out the window like an idiot.  Knowing I will have to report to my wife on a daily basis helps me maintain steadfast discipline and patience in my trading.

One last thing I think about is basically a lesson from Rhonda Byrne's famous book, The Secret."  The Secret teaches that if we want something, we have to hold it in our mind's eye, believe we have already obtained it, and be fully grateful for having received it from the universe.  So yes, I am thankful for my huge trading account.  More importantly, I am thankful for being a highly successful trader with tremendous patience and discipline.  I know I did not get to this point by getting emotional and overreacting at every unexpected twist and turn in the market.  I am thankful for the self control and confidence that made me the trader I am today.

I realize the lot ladder may not help everyone.  Of course everybody is not married or willing to discuss their daily results with their significant other.  I also know that not everyone has the same view of The Secret as I do.  That is not the point.  What is important is that I have found ways (and will continue to seek and find new ways) to exhibit patience and discipline in my trading.  If you are struggling with patience and/or discipline in your trading, maybe you can use one of my tools.  Some of you will have to come up with something totally new that works for you.  The key is to find something that truly resonates with you - something powerful enough to give you the internal fortitude to do the right thing in the face of strong negative emotion.  Once you find ways to be patient and disciplined, you will be much more likely to survive in the unforgiving Forex jungle.

Two quick notes:
1) One other thing that has helped is writing this blog.  Thank you so much to everyone who reads it and especially to those of you who reach out to discuss your own trading experiences with me.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!
2) In regards to the 7 pips, you may be saying, "Well what about the commission?"  On my personal spreadsheet, I subtract 1.5 pips from each trade to come up with what I call "net pips."  This number will vary depending on the pair you trade and whether you are in a micro account.  I can help you figure out the exact number if you need help with this.

As always, please feel free to reach out to me at pipaddict73@gmail.com.  I LOVE hearing from fellow traders!

-Cyrus Sidhwa
Smart Money Profile Trader

Fighting #FOMO

#FOMO = Fear Of Missing Out.  Fomo is a serious killer for an SMP Trader.  

When you succumb to fomo, bad things happen.  The number one issue caused by fomo is massive over-trading.  Over-trading is deadly, so always remember: TRADES ARE GOING TO GO BY WITHOUT YOU AND IT'S OK!  THERE WILL BE MANY MANY MANY MANY MANY MORE TRADES.  When you overcome fomo, you can now wait for clear market conditions with a well defined directional bias.  Once direction has been established, wait for an opportunity like a good pullback, focus on getting great low-risk entry, and just let the directional bias take the trade in your direction.

By overcoming fomo, you end up taking far fewer trades because you are not jumping at every little whiffle and tick in the market.  When you become more selective about your trading, you only enter the trades you feel most strongly about.  Winning trades happen when a trader first gains a strong understanding of the current market conditions and then develops a strong belief about what is about to happen next. 

You do NOT want to tangle with
the dreaded Fomomonster

The #fomomonster can also cause a trader to start foolishly trying to call the turn.  The reason fomo starts causing you to call the turn is that you're afraid that this one little area of resistance might be the place that the market suddenly turns around.  You start thinking, "What if this is the new low?  It could be a huge trade.  I don't want to miss out on that...."   Calling the turn against a clear directional bias is one of the most frustrating and fruitless endeavors on earth (ask me how I know). If you want to steer clear of the monster, ONLY TRADE WHEN YOU HAVE STRONG EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT A MOVE IN FAVOR OF YOUR DIRECTIONAL BIAS.

If we focus on getting great entry, we can keep our negatives quite small.  If we avoid the fomo and only enter trades when we have a strong belief about the upcoming move, we will combine smaller and less frequent losses together with larger, more frequent wins.  Now that sounds like the winning recipe for trading success to me!

I love hearing back from fellow traders!  Please email me at pipaddict73@gmail.com.

-Cyrus

Risk Management Salvaged My Week

Quick Note: I have only posted my last couple of entries onto the Fx365i website's blog.  I will be adding those posts onto this blog soon.  I will be keeping both up to date.

Risk management really saved me from having a truly terrible week last week.  My win-loss record was only 3 wins vs 9 losses.  One of those wins was less than 3 pips.  Without solid risk management, I could have seen myself down a boatload of pips.  However, I managed to keep it together and was down a relatively modest 19 pips for the week.  Obviously I'm not proud of going 3 for 12 and being down for the week, but I sure am glad I kept my losses under control!

After trading for a year, I've heard some different theories on risk management.  Some people say you have to give a trade a fair amount of room.  Trying to decide just how much room is "fair" depends on where you "know you are wrong."  I believe this is a concept that takes screen time to fully understand.  In order to avoid taking large losses with this theory, it is critical to have sharp, well-placed entries.  If you chase a trade, it can be a long ride down to find out you were truly wrong.  We'll talk more about this in a minute.

Another theory I've heard is that as soon as a trade doesn't behave exactly as you expected it to, get out of the trade.  The problem is this isn't our business - it's the market makers' business.  If we knew exactly how trades were going to behave, we'd all be batting a thousand!  However, this concept certainly has a lot of merit.  As is so often the case, it's the subtle nuances that make all the difference.  For example, in an SMP trade, if you get a market maker dot, and you expect price to hold below that dot, if price gets above the dot, Dump The Trade!  The same idea holds true for Wealth Smart traders taking a trade up against trend break.  It's so tempting to just want to be right and let the it play out further... only to watch the trade go further against you.  To be successful, you must not only plan a trade, but you must then trade that plan.

I have also heard a theory that you should run a large stop, sometimes as large as 30 - 50 pips.  The thought behind this is that if you see that the trade is going against you, at some point it will take a breath coming back your way and allow you to get out without as big of a loss.  This is one theory that absolutely doesn't work for me on multiple levels.  First of all, if you run a huge stop, guess what?  PRICE CAN HIT IT!  Ask me how I know.  Nearly every time I have taken a large risk on a trade, I have hit my stop.   Additionally, when it does start breathing back in your favor, guess what?  You don't want to get out!  You feel like the trade is finally going your way and you decision to run such a large stop is paying off.  Until 10 seconds later when price snaps hard and stops you out.  To each their own, but that style of risk management is definitely not for me.

I truly believe you have to find your own style of trading and your own style of risk management.  I like to run a tight stop.  In fact, my stop is set at just 10 pips.  On most of my trades, I will almost immediately tighten my stop up even a couple more pips.  A huge part of the reason for this is that I am absolutely useless at clicking out of a trade when it is going against me.  Whether it is pride, ego, blind optimism, or just plain stupidity, I constantly find reasons to stay in the trade.  However, if I have moved my stop to  minus 6 or 8 pips, I no longer have to worry about it.

Now, I also believe setting my stop at a place where I know I was wrong about the trade.  In order to accomplish this, I truly have to focus on my entries.  For example, I frequently want to enter close to a market maker dot (if you are a Wealth Smart trader, think about trying to get in close to trend break).  Let's say we're trying to go long.  The further price moves above that dot, or above trend break, the larger the negative we would have to take before knowing we were wrong.  Why?  Because we would know we were wrong when price moved below the dot or snapped short through trend break.  If we entered the trade 10 pips above the dot or trend break, there is too much risk.  If we entered 2 or 3 pips above, we have managed our risk much more efficiently.

Well, I hope this is helpful to fellow traders.  Find your own style of risk management that makes sense to you.  As for me, I need to consistently stick with my risk management principles.  But to tell you the truth, I'm sick of talking about losing.  I need to be more patient and find better trades.  Hopefully over the upcoming weeks, we can discuss when to exit trades for profit!

I always love hearing from fellow traders.  Please reach out to me at pipaddict73@gmail.com.  

Happy Pip Hunting!

11.13.14 - SMP Trading Rules

I was shocked by the news yesterday when I heard that the banks manipulate the Forex market.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!  

Yes, that was an attempt at a little currency trading humor....  It actually was really funny watching non-traders who heard the news come up to me throughout the day and ask what I thought about this terrible manipulation of the banks.  When I tried to explain that the Smart Money Profile (SMP) software actually tracks the market maker's manipulations, and that our entire trading methodology is based around understanding their manipulations, I was met with many blank stares and looks of confusion.  I am eternally grateful to Wade and everyone involved in creating SMP.  It is an absolutely amazing tool.

By the way, before we get to the main topic of the day, I want to say that I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to sit down and pick the brains of someone who I would venture to say is well on his way to becoming one of the best traders in the world.  The funny thing is, most of you already know him.  I'm talking about Ira Barnes.  Being the humble person that he is, Ira does not frequently toot his own horn, but you should know that for several weeks now, Ira has been averaging hundreds of pips per week.  Yes hundreds.  Week after week.  These pips are all pulled by using information found exclusively on Fx365i's incredible Wealth Smart trading platform.    In one of my next posts, I look forward to sharing with you some of the wisdom that Ira shared with me. 

Well, on to the main topic for the day...

Over the past couple of weeks, I have found myself in a bit of a spin cycle caused by some serious over-trading.  This is very disappointing to me because I have been at this long enough now to know much better.  Hell, one of my first blog entries was about how over-trading got me into an epic slump.  Fortunately I did not enter those horrific levels of deep abyss this time around and I am bound and determine to control myself.  All I want to do is create sustainable winning trading habits and profitably move up the lot ladder.  Nothing else matters.

As such, I have created a new set of trading rules for SMP.  There are no earth shattering concepts here... just good trading habits and common sense.  I have pasted them below exactly as I have written them out for myself.  The real challenge of course is not in just writing them, but in following and LIVING them every single day.  That said, I am extremely glad I wrote them down because it gives me a reference point and something to live by.  I imagine the rules will continue to evolve, so I would love to hear any feedback about them.  Is there anything you would change?  Do you have your own rules written out?  If you'd like to share them, or any other thoughts, please email me at pipaddict73@gmail.com.  Happy Trading - I'll see you soon!  Here are my SMP trading rules pasted directly from my Evernote:

These rules are not made to be broken.  They must be followed.  If you follow these rules, you will create an amazing financial life.

1. LET THE TRADES COME TO YOU
2. ONLY TAKE TRADES YOU UNDERSTAND
3. LET THE TRADES COME TO YOU
4. ONLY TAKE TRADES YOU UNDERSTAND
5. PRACTICE OUTSTANDING TIGHT RISK MANAGEMENT ON EVERY SINGLE TRADE
   • You will be wrong on a decent amount of trades
   • If you keep those negatives averaging 8 or less pips, you can win big with the SMP software because you will hit a good amount of 20 pip trades and also hit some much bigger trades
     • Tight risk management is an INCREDIBLY important element in long term sustainable profitability.
6. BE PATIENT
   • Wait for something you understand
   • Everything else is gambling.
     • You are not here to gamble, you are here to profitably interact with the market makers business model
   • Until you have new information, stick with your directional bias 
   • Do not get bored / sloppy and start trading both ways
7. DON'T OVER-TRADE
   
   • Only enter trades that you believe have at least a 15 pip potential.  Ideally, look for 20+ pip opportunities.
   • Wait for what you believe is the real entry.  If you happen to miss it, so be it.  There will be many many more trades.
   • Don't shoot all your bullets at one opportunity.  If you are wrong once, twice at the most, wait for more information.  If it happens to go and you miss it, it's OK... there will be many more great trading opportunities.
     • Not over-trading is another INCREDIBLY important element in long term sustainable profitability.
8. GET GREAT ENTRY
   • When you see a set-up you understand, be decisive and act quickly in order to get great entry.  
     • For example, if you are getting in because price is going through a dot, get in as soon as price goes through the dot, don't wait for 5 pips of confirmation.
     • This allows you to maximize profit potential and run very tight risk management
9. DO NOT TRY TO CALL THE TURN!
   • Only trade in the direction of your directional bias
10. EXIT TRADES WITH SOUND REASONING
    • If you are up in a trade and the trade stalls / reaches a decision point / reaches a point where it is likely to take a breath:
      • Move your stop so you have zero exposure.  This means setting your stop at +1.5 pips so you are able to pay your commission and still walk away with no loss.
      • Once you have moved your stop, decide if you think it is likely that price will move back to reach your stop.  If you think there is a decent likelihood, then take your profit before it starts to breathe against you
      • If you believe you are just dealing with a breath in what can potentially turn into a much bigger trade, and that price is unlikely to come back to your stop, stay in the trade.  If you are wrong, you take a zero.  If you are right, this is how you pull huge trades.
        • NOTE: Do NOT get out just because price action is making you uncomfortable or you will be minimizing your profits.  Do NOT watch the trade stall, decide you're going to stay in the trade, let it back up 10 pips, and then get out.  Either let the trade play out, or get out at the stall, but don't let the market makers manipulate you into giving up 10-20 pips and then get out just when the market is about to turn back your way.
        • IMPORTANT: If you get new information that tells you you are more likely to be wrong, then get out of the trade with as much profit as possible - there is no reason to let it go back to your stop if you have new information
    • If you did not get great entry in a trade and it is stalling at a decision point, you did not earn the right to stay in that trade.  Take the profit and get out.
      • The only exception to this is if your intuition strongly tells you that the trade will keep going your way.  Make sure your stop is in a place where you have very little to no exposure.
11. USE YOUR INTUITION
    • If it makes sense, but something tells you it's not right, don't take the trade.  Be patient.  There will be tons of great trading opportunities over the coming days, weeks, months, and years.  Let them come to you.  If you miss a trade, you miss it... so what?  There will be tons more trades.
12. LET THE TRADES COME TO YOU
13. ONLY TAKE TRADES YOU UNDERSTAND
14. LET THE TRADES COME TO YOU
15. ONLY TAKE TRADES YOU UNDERSTAND
16. LET THE TRADES COME TO YOU

10/1/14: Improvement from Yesterday's Missed Opportunity... Up 22.9 Pips

If you happened to catch yesterday's post, you know I was frustrated because I saw a trade that I completely understood... and didn't pull the trigger.  The trade would have paid me close to 50 pips.  Well, I'm happy to say that I didn't make that same mistake again today.  More about that in a minute. 

First, let me tell you, I was in a pissy little mood this morning.  One of the great things about the Fx365i Institute is just the camaraderie that exists at the school.  Also, one of our room rules is to always be uptone.  So between simply showing up to class and being around like-minded traders, I slowly dragged myself into an emotional state where I was able to start analyzing the market.

Unfortunately, by the time we started today's SMP webinar, the market was in a pretty tight accumulation.  It had already moved up 135, down 90, and then back up 45 (hello market maker 45's!).  The market kept futzing around and I really couldn't form a strong directional bias.  

Head trader Wade Guth suggested that we were overall likely to be in a short market.  I more or less agreed with this, but I still didn't see any type of set up that I understood.  Then, all of a sudden, BOOM, it happened.  Unlike yesterday, I acted with conviction and took advantage of another great setup that was shown by the SMP software.  Let's walk through what I saw on this trade.

Classic maniuplation.  Short belief created.  Hardcore news manipulation spike with quick rotation going back short.

If you look at the hour chart, you can see that we were really ranging pretty tightly back and forth.  However, on the 5 minute chart, look at the candle just to the left of the the candles where I drew the yellow circle.  Notice how that was roughly the fifth 5 minute candle in a row that was going short.  Also, notice how it went just a little bit lower than the previous low (as shown by the dotted horizontal line).  When price did not continue to push down, I was very suspicious of what was going on.  The market makers had enticed the masses to go short.

Then, as you can see by the next candle, price shot up.  This happened right at the very end of the candle.  Notice how the blue buy-liquidity line had formed on the SMP software (man this software is awesome!).  As soon as price started dropping on the orange candle, it became apparent to me that we had just witnessed absolutely classic manipulation.  I got in going short just a couple of pips after price crossed back down below the blue line.  I had low risk on this trade because if price would have suddenly backed up above the blue line, I would have dumped the trade.

I did experience a pretty good amount of slippage as I only got in at about 1.8597.  However, the trade continued to go strong my way.  There was debate in the room about whether or not I should stay in the trade when I was up about 15-18 pips in the trade.  I was tempted to get out, but figured I had a good chance of price continuing to push down.  I moved my stop down so that even if it suddenly reversed, I would have got out with a small positive.  If this would have been "the move," I could have potentially seen something close to a triple digit trade.

Fortunately, price pushed down and I saw about a +25 in the trade.  When it stalled again, I no longer had as much confidence that it was going to continue to push down.  I also realized I was basically at my goal for the week.  The market backed up just a touch and I got out with a +22.9.  I'm very happy with that result.

So my next debate is to decide whether or not I should trade the rest of the week.  The more conservative members of Fx365i's leadership group would tell me not to trade the rest of the week because I'm at my goal.  The more aggressive thinkers would say that I'm seeing the market well and to take advantage.  So what am I planning to do?  I believe I may trade again this week, but only if I see something I think I really understand and STRONGLY believe in.  European rate decision and Non-Farm payroll are coming up the next two days and I am damn well determined not to give the market makers my pips back.

Thanks for the support.  Let me know what you think of this trade and how your trading is going.  You can comment on the post or email me at pipaddict73@gmail.com.

9.30.14 - A Missed Opportunity

There was a great trade on the Smart Money Profile (SMP) software today.  I absolutely saw it and didn't take it. I'm not exactly sure why, but more than anything else, I basically didn't have the courage to click in the trade.  Here was the beautiful setup the software gave us:

Notice the yellow circle I have drawn on the 5 minute chart.  As the market was moving up slowly for the previous hour, I started feeling like the market makers were creating belief and were likely to snap the market back short.  At the time, I was looking for price to hit the blue buy-liquidity line at 1.8605.

However, SMP then added the green accumulation dot and gave us a new blue liquidity line where I drew the yellow circle.  I immediately saw this as a great entry to go short.  Why didn't I get in?  I go back to something QuickStart instructor LaCurtis says over and over, "You're afraid to take a negative."  This was a poor mistake on my part.  This was a very low risk entry.  Wade Guth, head trader at Fx365i even called out that this could be a spot to take the market short.  However, at that point, I felt like I had missed my entry and didn't want to chase the market short.

SMP showed us an amazing trade and gave us beautiful entry.  Several people in our class pulled 20-40 pips out of the trade.  I actually saw the trade very early and SHOULD have pulled a 40+ pip trade.  I'm excited that I saw the trade and read it correctly, but I'm very disappointed in my lack of courage to pull the trigger.  The trade gave me excellent risk management and an excellent profit target and the software showed us the entry.  You literally can't ask for anything else.

Could woulda shoulda doesn't cut it.  My thought to myself for today is when I see something I understand and there is opportunity for a good profit, I MUST take those trades.  It's idiotic to not take a trade like today's excellent setup.  The thing that's most important for me now is to not get stupid and try and make up for it by getting in on too many trades, or taking worse trades that don't have low risk.  The market will be here tomorrow and good trades will present themselves again.

How about you?  How was your trading today?

9/29/14: Up 10 Pips Today! ---> Busting the Slump

I'm happy to report I am actually UP 10+ Pips for the day on two trades!  Not only am I sick of the slump, but I'm getting pretty sick of talking and writing about it, so hopefully I won't have to for much longer.  However, it doesn't pay to be in denial (ask me how I know, Good Lord ask me how I know) and I promised that I would share what steps I'm taking to make the turn to become a proficient, disciplined and profitable trader.
  
It started two weeks ago today when we had our last student council meeting at Fx365i.  I was there a few minutes early along with a couple of other student council members.  I noticed the "Always" poster in the room.  The Always poster is pretty much the first thing that we are shown at Fx365i.  I had actually seen it hanging in the institute before I even signed up.  

As I was reading the poster about these basic tenets of how to become a solid trader, I realized I had not been following many of the guiding principles.  Remember, this is called the ALWAYS poster.  For me it was more like the once in while or not at all poster.  We were all quiet in the room when instructor (and major league pip-collector) Ira Barnes said, "Well someone say something."  So I piped up, "Man, I've got to do a way better job of this following this Always poster."  Ira, who is one of the most supportive / positive people I know, simply replied, "Yeah, Trading 101."  He probably had no idea, but his slightly gruff tone at that moment was exactly the kick in the ass I needed to realize what a bad student I have been.  The leadership meeting was about to begin, but that was the moment I realized I needed to make some serious changes.

Change #1: Starting This Trading Blog
I strongly believe in the power of writing about your thoughts, but I realized I had not been keeping great notes.  Even before I deleted my entire trading log out of sheer frustration, the only comments I was writing out were discussing the specifics of my trades.  I wasn't taking notes when the instructors would explain things in class, I wasn't keeping a trading journal, I wasn't taking notes when we would discuss chapters from The Forex Mindset... nothing.  Basically, all I was doing was looking for trades.  Well guess what, you can't go look for trades, you have to let trades come to you.  And, as the Always Poster says, you have to ALWAYS continue to educate yourself on how the market works.  Looking back, it's no surprise that my trading was terrible. So, to anyone who is reading this, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.  My hope is that you will be able to avoid making the same mistakes I make - while mirroring the behaviors that bring me success.

Change #2: Letting My Support System Help Me
During my struggles, I was not talking to anyone about how poorly my trading was going.  I tried my best to stay upbeat, but let me tell you, even though I might have left class most days with a friendly "See you tomorrow," when I would get in my car, more often than not I would let out a wicked scream of frustration and drop a few f-bombs for good measure.  If you don't think trading can become a highly emotional situation, you are sorely mistaken.  Ask me how I know.

Finally, after I started the blog, one of the consultants at the school talked to me about what I had written.  Rather than clamming up or saying "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine," I opened up and had an honest conversation about what was going on.  Maybe more importantly, I actually listened to what I was being told.  This person's support has been unwavering since day one.  In case you are reading this, you know who you are and I can't thank you enough.

In a previous post, I mentioned that I have been struggling at my "day job" also.  I took the same approach and sought out help again.  I pulled my manager aside and said I was disappointed with my performance.  I told him I didn't want him to think I was screwing off or not caring.  I explained how my trading struggles have been causing me major stress and despite my best efforts, I sometimes find myself staring blankly at my computer screens.  Once again, this person was incredibly supportive.  He gave me some suggestions and a little pep talk.  I feel much better about how I'm going to perform at work moving forwards as well.  I realize how blessed I am to have a boss like this and it inspires me to continue to do better because I don't want to disappoint him.

Change #3: Being More Determined
I really try not to be that pompous guy who everyone hates.  However, I think I went too far in trying to be Mr Nice Guy.  It sucks to have to say this, but I've been soft.  Softer than a jelly donut dammit.  

Simply put, I have told myself I need to compete harder in every facet of my life.  Compete harder to be a better trader, compete harder to lose the 15-18 pounds I want to lose, compete harder at work, compete harder with myself to be a better husband, compete harder with myself and be disciplined in every facet of my life.  

I have hardly played any competitive sports lately, but I'm going to try and find something to get back into (probably playing tennis) and I'm going to fight like hell to win.  The last time I played a set of tennis, I competed a little, and I did win, but I remember feeling like my opponent wanted it more than me.  I can't have that.  I'm determined to push myself harder.  WIN!

Now, it's an interesting thing to try and push yourself harder in trading because unlike other facets of your life, it doesn't just mean, Go, Go Go.  However, writing the blog, taking notes, reading more, paying more attention when I read, being a more active listener, and being extremely disciplined in letting trades come to me (and in risk management) are things I must do in order to realize my dreams of becoming a highly profitable trader.

I see now I have a chance to put the slump squarely in the my rear view mirror and start WINNING!  I'm looking forward to sharing my journey with everyone as I push forward.

I hope you enjoy reading, I'd love to hear your comments about your own trading.

Here is a screenshot of my two WINNING trades in the Smart Money Profile software:

-Cy