No. Not that. Another losing week. In honesty I quite like that I've had another losing week. I know that last statement seems a little weird, but hear me out.
No strategy is 100%. Well, none that we know of otherwise we'd all be doing it. So it stands to reason that at some point, no matter how good your strategy is, it will lose. The first time your strategy loses is tough though. Not only does it pour a little water and sunshine on the seed of doubt, but it actually hurts, mentally and maybe even for some, physically. But this pain is pain that we must familiarise ourselves with, and embrace, if we are to not let it effect us and our trading. It's the same as taking a losing trade. It has to happen at some point and it's actually good when it does because it gives you an insight into who you are and how you handle loss, and that is one of the most important psychological aspects of trading that you need to know.
How do you react when you take a loss?
If you take a loss and then immediately think to yourself that you have to get it back, then you have the evidence that your mindset needs addressing. Urgently! In fact, if this is your unconscious automatic reaction, I suggest you stop trading and spend that now free time looking at yourself introspectively and trying to figure out 'why' you feel like that and how will you set about changing it, because it can only lead to misery, frustration and ultimately a busted account. I wasn't like this in the beginning, I didn't really do what is called revenge trading (although I did on occasion). I did the opposite, which is basically just as destructive, at least it is mentally if not financially. I would enter a trade and no sooner had I done so, then I'd be looking for any excuse to close it to book a win, no matter how small and avoid a loss at all costs. I couldn't deal with the discomfort (I prefer to refer to it as this instead of pain) of losing. Eventually though, after finding Tom Hougaard and his book, I began to accept this discomfort and in fact embrace it and the lessons it was teaching me. As I experienced more of it, the less of an effect it had on me. Of course no one likes to lose, but you can accept it, and the sooner you do, then it unlocks a freedom in your trading like nothing else. You have to realise that losing, like winning, eventually stops.
So having only had one losing week prior to last week in the 40+ weeks I have been keeping proper records of my trading, was interesting because it gave me an opportunity to introspectively assess myself and my mindset with regards to loss. Having now had two in a row it is almost a blessing, because when it happens again in the future, and it will, I am not only experienced in what it feels like and so more able to process and deal with those feelings, but I have the experience that I know it will not affect my current and my future trading, and whilst we can never know what the market is going to do next, knowing what we are going to do next is almost just as valuable.
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