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Trading Stocks Without Emotion

Posted on June 6, 2021 by Elroy Bicking

To exchange without emotional involvement. It's a must, and yet it's virtually impossible. Certain things in life only bring out emotion, like making decisions which impact your financial outlook. There are two things which make this uniquely harder for dealers, than for non-traders. One is, we're going to be more involved in our fiscal well-being than non-traders. Some people would even say our priorities are out of whack, and maybe they're right. But nevertheless, that's the way we are, and when we weren't that way we would not be traders. The second factor which makes emotionless trading really hard is, this is very likely to be our passion. We are not singers, humanitarians (hopefully we do share our prosperity ), politicians, writers, spiritualists, we are dealers, and are most likely to be passionate about it. Many people to be honest, love it. Love it like Pittsburgh enjoys their Steelers, irrational, all consuming, eats us up inside appreciate it. And we know in our heart of hearts, or more importantly in our logical, rational part of our character that we can not be emotional about it. Not be emotional about what we love?? It's one of the most difficult things on earth. That's the reason Doctor's do not treat family members.

Among the easiest traps to fall in, is to be mad at the markets. Just like a new love, nothing can get your hackles up so much as that which you love. When the markets fail you, that love has defeated you. And if love disappoints anger can certainly follow, just ask your adolescent. It actually fires that special spot on your belly. The issue with becoming angry at the markets, is you need to get back at it. But to traders the sector is the epitome of unrequited love. The market has no emotion, you're fighting a losing battle, if you believe that you will get back at it. Since it does not care. The bad thing about this is that you're likely to trade horribly due to this emotion, even if it goes undetected. You may override your systems, you may trade without consideration, you will actually mirror the very thing you're attempting to defeat. Emotion not thought out, which is exactly what enormous market swings are.

The next pitfall of anger is comparable to the first, but not as devastating. You're not angry so much as you would like to recover your losses. Just like a horse bettor who got skunked in the track,, and borrows money from Uncle Rich, you raise your bets, throw money management principles and media to recoup. Financially this could be more catastrophic than anger all by itself. Often though it's the first step to the anger mentioned in the preceding paragraph. The first curl in a spiraling out of control, that will probably break you in the long run.

Anger is not he only emotion that the markets bring us out. The opposite of anger is euphoria, everything has gone your way. Some transactions have gone beyond your wildest fantasies. And ca-ching the cash is rolling in. Up go your transactions, and you're on a roll like no other. You've figured out it, and the industry is yours. She loves you, only you, and will do what you want. Again out go the principles that got you there, and out goes your winning series. And viola you've fallen into the anger trap. Or at least the recoup snare, you beg forgiveness, if the market will only return you to where you were before euphoria made you covetous. You confess your sins and beg for mercy. But again the marketplace has no winner, the market cares not for you.

In my experience it's after this roller coaster, has cut my trading funds in half, I start again to trade without emotion. So how did I get to the stage, where there never happens again? Where the market doesn't elicit anger or unhappiness. I don't believe you do. It's extremely hard to not have feelings once you get pummeled or some positions breaks to the upside down wildly. So what do you do?

You acknowledge it, you admit it, you're conscious of it. You say,yes that just ticks me off, why would that commerce do that. And you go form there. You decide what to do, if anything after you acknowledge your emotions. You stick with your trading rules. You can then go back and learn from the event. Which is the actual value of mistakes. It is possible to examine what went wrong, compare it to what's gone right in the past. Maybe change your principles, possibly accept that things will go wrong in the game of trading. And that's the price you pay for the ideal trades. However, you NEVER make a trade based on emotion.

It is still possible to love the current market, the game of trading. I do, and I hate it as well. I think about my sailboat beckoning, and need to bag the entire thing. And that day will come. However, the difference is I really like the markets from a distance, by a reflection, I really like it as an achievement of guy. It's been a massive part of my adult life, and has shown me every element of human emotion, and has taught me one very, very great lesson, patience.