How to Deal with the Inability to Lose
On Parts I and II of the Unprofessional Forex Trader series, we covered the warning signs associated with traders who don't use stops and hold on to losing trades indefinitely, as well as provided the evidence that shows why this trading group doesn't succeed over time.
But if you suffer from a can't-take-a-loss affliction, there is hope! Based on our decades of experience incubating traders and money managers via our Traders Wanted program, here are three suggestions on how to effectively deal with the inability to take it on the chin:
- Face the Facts. Most Forex Traders with risk management issues fail to improve their condition because they typically deny that they have a problem to begin with. Consequently, the first step in solving the floating loss dilemma is for traders to admit it exists. That means they have to stop doing foolish things such as calling themselves "scalpers" at parties, while holding on to dead weight in the market every day or making senseless, delusional claims like "stop losses are for sissies." Just face the facts and admit it big guy! That is half the battle right there.
- Focus on a Strategy with Good Risk Management. There are an infinite number of trading strategies out there that teach you how to manage risk properly, cutting your losses when necessary. Oh, and you don't have break the bank to learn them.
You can find numerous Forex forums, chat rooms, and blogs that discuss these things. Start reading and learning. It takes time, but what is the alternative? Going back to a pet-the-grenade Forex style of trading? You have no choice! You can also practice what you eventually learn on a trading demo. If you can't control yourself in a demo environment, you probably won't make it as a Forex Trader in the real world either; so why bother?Another possibility is for you to start applying one of the proprietary strategies we will send you when you request one of our 60-day MT4 demos. This is part of our unique FastTrack Forex program, which we created to incubate successful prop traders and money managers in an accelerated fashion, giving them the opportunity to manage capital for Forex Day Trading and our clients.
- Tune Your Trading Mind for Success. It is true that Forex trading is mostly mental; so even if you follow our earlier advice on numbers 1 and 2, you still might fail because of psychological reasons. Consequently, getting your mind in the proper state and conditioning it for trading success is essential.
One potential solution is to practice meditation to reprogram your trading mind while in the mental state of Theta (read our blog post, Forex Training Should be Mental, for more information on the Theta brainwave state and mental re-conditioning). Unfortunately, this is a difficult process that often takes years to master.A shortcut around this might be to use the FX Mind Tuner, which was designed to minimize trader involvement. This unique tool is part of our FastTrack trader recruitment program, and was created by professional traders and PhD's in subliminal programming. It works on the Trader's Subconscious Mind while he sleeps. One of the problems it attempts to correct is the psychological inability to take losses, a requirement to reach a Pro Trader status. That is why we highly recommend it to every currency trader, especially to those suffering from a loss anxiety.
This is the last piece of the important 3-part series on pro trading. If you have made it this far, we congratulate you! We can also assure you of one thing… If you follow the advice we have provided here and learn how to deal with your losers and stop losses correctly, you will dramatically boost your chances of becoming a successful Pro Forex Trader.
We would love to hear what you have to say about our suggestions to help traders deal with the floating loss problem. Please use our like buttons below to like our post or tell us what you think by submitting your comments.
If you haven't read the Un-Professional Forex Trader – Part 1, So You Can't Take a Loss? and Part 2, Why Not Using Stop Losses in Forex is a BIG Mistake, please do so at this time.
