evolved trader

Cool Simon. I know exactly what you mean. (where's the clown shoes?) ZDO, haha, great question. Increased awarenes, but I'd have to lean towards to second statement.

Hi Simon, What a great thread! I've been involved in the personal and professional arena now for a few years. I've also been trading now for a few years. I can honestly say (from my personal perspective) trading is by far the most advanced personal growth tool on the planet. I believe our results from trading are simply a mirror composed of our true core beliefs, habits, and perceptions. This is why I believe altering the social conditioning has a dramatic improvement on our overall success as a trader. (Which go hand in hand with our edge). If you're not growing you're...... what? Dying. Nothing stays the same, and neither should we as traders. We must constantly be evolving by upgrading out skill-sets and mind-sets. I do want to challenge you on one thing Simon. You mentioned Fear and Greed. Although I understand what you're implying, I believe everything in this world in only driven by 2 factors....... Either Love or lack of love. Cheers, Ryan

Interesting question ZDO. Thanks for sharing the TED video. Great information. Ryan

Hey BrownsFan Great reply as always. Good to know I'm not alone. I'm very similar in the sense I know at a whim what signals my edge is giving me, however my attention may only be about 60% at the time. Accountability is huge, and something I'll do starting tonight. Thanks for the reminder. I have a friend I can use over email. I appreciate the invite! I definetly know me "sweet spots". So I'll work my "breaks" around those times. Proably go for a quick 5 minute walk down the street. I find getting away from the screen and into some form of nature refreshing... Thanks for the feedback! -Ryan

Eiger I really like that process. It's simple. I'm going to apply that tomorrow. I'll set time my breaks for every 60-90 minutes depending on the market conditions. Great advice, this will help me break the day up a bit. Wes Another great idea. Something I intend on doing in the near future. Great point about the Hedge Funds. I've learned working from home alone takes disipline. It's really a matter of me treating trading as a business. If I miss an opportunity one day, its usually becasue was distracted by something else on the net.

I was trading this morning and through an experience a question arose. For all you day traders out there how long of a time frame are you able to trade while still feeling focused and centered? Especially when you’re waiting for a setup to form that’s taking a little longer than expected. Have you ever found yourself being sidetrack doing other tasks on the computer? Emailing, or reading other websites (Bloomberg). I usually trade live for about 5 hours in the morning. However I’ve found my level of focus and intensity fades in and out while waiting in between trades to setup. This will sometime cause me to “miss” a move because I wasn’t mentally in the space to take the trade. Does anyone have some tips to stay in tune with the market while things are a bit slower? What approaches do you all take? Do you only focus on trading for the 4-5 hours straight and eliminating any other tasks? Maybe you get away from the screen for a few minutes to keep fresh? Any suggestion our thoughts are greatly appreciated. -Ryan

SwingTradin Jay I’m in a great place now mentally for trading. I’ve come to realize the monetary gains are not what defines my trading success. ZDO Havent, but I will read it. Thanks for ALL the suggestions! I just recently (last week) dropped focusing on the monetary goals. Wouldnt you know, I’m seeing the market in correlation with my system clearer than ever in real-time. Always love your posts. And of Course appreciate your help. I love the idea behind having goals about moving us into optimal state and applying the full development and application of my edge. I’m realizing more and more the importance of the big picture, and not weekly, monthly money goals. Minoo Thanks for the inspiration and a great post reply. That let me to another question I have about focus and environments. I’ll post a new thread for that. Appreciate the break down. Traderspsyches Thanks for the reply. And I have to say, as I go deeper into my trading, the more simplistic properly trading my edge seems to be. At least on a conscious level..... I have to agree with Browns Fan...I love the term “Psychological capital” Wjrusnak I’ve dropped the monetary goals with the exception of a yearly / quartly. Even at that I’ve stopped focusing on that and give my full attention to maximizing the performance of my edge. Thanks for the suggestions! WalterW Point taken. Wes Its funny, as I read your post I could relate on many levels. Like I’ve said, I only focusing on trading the edge now.....with proper application. Thanks everyone for the thoughts and insights. Always appreciated!

Hey guys and gals. Thanks everyone for the comments. I have been lucky enough to have someone approach me to help stay focused on the end result. I'm looking forward to the interaction. Of course it wouldnt have been possible without this board. Big thanks to SoulTrader. OAC, thanks a ton. I've downloaded it and I'll read it over the week. Thanks again everyone, Ryan

Hi everyone As some of you may know from reading my posts I have been having some challenges executing my trades properly following my edge. Since the beginning of December I decided to invest some time into paper trading and mentally trading as well. I figured it was best to get re-focused again before risking anymore capital. Hypothetically I’ve been doing excellent. The challenge is that I haven’t been able to simulate the same emotional feelings paper trading as when actually trading live. So of course my results are outstanding as there is no distorted view of my edge, or any fear or greed gripping my actions. I had an interesting experience the other day at the Casino that basically pinpointed where my block is. I rarely go to the casino, maybe twice a year. My girlfriend really wanted to go so I said I’d tag along. I sat down at a slot machine next to here and slipped in $20. After about a couple minutes of playing the machine I could feel the exact same feeling from trading being released. My heart rate started to increase, my palms started to sweat and I could actually feel small beads of sweat slowing dripping down from my armpits! (Sorry for being descriptive!). Here I was, already consciously accepted the risk before I put in ONLY $20 and I’m realising all kinds of fear based chemicals into my body. Its the exact same emotional feelings I’ve been having during trading the past few months. When I first started trading (5 years ago) I was never like this. It’s definitely not a healthy way to trade and I’m now thinking I must be viewing the markets as gambling and not strategic trading. I can think of one negative major emotional experience that happened to me where I lost a large chunk of my capital and it basically wiped me out (this was about 2 years ago now). And an additional negative emotional experience about six months 4 months ago. Now that I feel I know where the block is I wondered if anyone would suggest and mental techniques. Has anyone done NLP? Or EFT? Or even possibly personal hypnosis. It seems very clear that I have a neurological block that’s creating all these feelings. I ‘m just looking forward to trading again like when I was focused, calm, and relaxed! Thanks everyone. Ryan:)

The Hunter Great suggestions and very inspiring to hear a trader involved in the game 10+ years. Congrats. I like your ideas of not looking at your account balance until Friday and only focusing one day at a time. Like I said, its very inspiring to read your post. Brownsfan Great questions to ask, thanks for the advice and insights. DarthTrader Exactly!

Brownsfan Thanks for the great suggestions. You’re probably right, if someone was profiting off my system it would be a swift kick in the butt for me! I’m uncertain of the approach I’m going to take yet. I may take a month to paper trade and build myself back up mentally. Because yes, I’m happy with the system I’ve developed. I just need to learn to have more trust and faith in my abilities. Blowfish I agree with you completely. It’s the fear of failing, of being wrong about my decisions that seems to hold me back. No big deal, its something many of you have overcome and I know its just a hurdle for me to overcome. Its a great opportunity. Hey, if it was that easy, 95% of traders wouldn’t lose money. Walter Great post! As I read your advice something hit me hard. Through June/ July / August I was making more money than I’d ever made before, not just in trading, but my entire life. Having consistent success focusing only on properly executing my system and having fun in the process. September / October / November have been the exact opposite, and my success has been minimal. With hindsight now I realize I’ve gone from being passionate about trading to chasing the dollars. I mean look at my post, my focus has been to earn X amount of money a day. When I was successfully trading I was just having fun and enjoying the process of trading with tons of passion. I can feel that has since changed. Thank you for allowing me to become aware of this. Darthtrader That is very true. Although in my case all entry/ exit/ target strategies are in place. I think Walter has really helped pinpoint my challenge. Thank everyone

Oac Yeah, good idea. Think I’d rather give it away and make someone’s day... TOG Awesome! I’ll read over the article tonight. Thanks for the input and advice. Stanlyd I’m going to give that a shot too. I’ve heard running on the spot or doing push-ups like you do helps to get away from the screen. I’ll probably give placing the trade and exiting the room an shot. And no it’s not crazy, I read once Bret Steenbarger hops on the trend mill while letting his profits run. Ckait Exactly! That’s why I don’t sim trade anymore. I can sim trade till I’m blue in the face and successfully trading everything but that doesn’t mean much to me. It just proves me edge works. It doesn’t mean I’m successfully applying my edge. Thanks for the encouragement. I have overcome this in the past, but it seems to have crept back. It’s a process, I’ll get it right. I’m going to apply everything you guys have suggested. I’ll report back Friday and let you know how it goes! Thanks again, Ryan:)

Kiwi, Awesome advice. Thank you very much. I've already got my mike infront of me might now. I've practiced a few trades already on paper and noticed hesitation and lack of confidence in my voice. Cant wait to give it a go tomorrow live. Thanks for all the great input. Ryan

Sdoma Yeah, I think simply taking my hand off the mouse will be effective. I’ll apply that simple strategy Friday. BlowFish Yeah, I’m totally good with simulation mode. But thinking about it now I haven’t traded simulation for over 6 months. I have had some incredible consistent success for 4 months straight, then had a mindset shift and have been struggling with executing trades based out of fear. You’re right; I am breaking the circle now. I’ll do these then, take my hand off the mouse and get away from the computer. Does anyone know what process Blowfish is specifically talking about? I do have Douglas’ second book if it’s in there. Thanks guys for the help and advice. Ryan:)

Head2k Thanks for the support. I do feel that is a huge success in itself. Also, begin able to clearly understand the sector I trade is a major success. I used to place my attention only on the system and not the monetary gains. Possibly a good idea to go back to, thanks! Brownsfan019 It’s nice to know I’m not alone. Alright, see where you’re going and you right. The part that stood out for me the most was this....Cancelling the trade because of being afraid to lose money and have to go back to a different lifestyle, job, ect. That’s really the unfounded fear. I’ve been trading full time from home for almost 6 months and the past couple months have been rough, mentally...and now I’m seeing the effects in my account size. This is something I have to overcome to get back on track trading successfully. Everything else is good, sector; back testing, risk control, ect. Thanks for bringing this up. I suppose it’s as simple as executing the trade and sitting on my hands.... Bearbull That is so true. Right now I’m using very minimal leverage and my risk is @ 5%so my actual dollar amount of risk is fairly small. Basically what I’m hearing is to keep placing the trades and let them get filled over and over again. Keep following up with a stop and limit order then let the trade work. Practice this over and over and over again trading live. The funny thing is that almost all the trades I feel fear about placing....are the successful ones. The ones that are comfortable usually end up being losers. Alright, so for Friday I’ll enter the trade on time and follow through with a fill. I’ll let you guys know how it goes and how I felt! Thanks! I needed to hear some positive feedback. Ryan:)