Disheveled.
This is the way it’s been the last few weeks — definitely not as much fun as a nice easy trend that we’ve had at varying points in time.
It’s left many of you — and me at times — feeling pretty ragged! I’ve gotten a ton of emails from different members, asking about the adjustments we’ve had to make and how to get through these types of news related markets.
Does THIS look familiar?
Anybody have kids? Or grandkids? Or know someone with a kid?
On any normal day, when I ask Leo to start getting ready for bed, he isn’t completely thrilled but he’ll go upstairs, brush his teeth and get ready… just in time for bedtime stories.
Well, you likely know what happens if a kid stays up too late after their bedtime. Even the sweetest, most well behaved child can have a rough time if they’re up too late.
On a normal night, everything is fine and well. But, if I happened to have a webinar that night, or stayed out a bit too late playing sand volleyball, bedtime goes pretty differently.
Leo realizing he has ‘the wrong’ flavor of toothpaste can send him into a 15 minute long temper tantrum.
With kids, something that doesn’t bother them at any other time may cause them to go into a total meltdown just because they’re lacking sleep. They experience these emotional reactions, that wouldn’t happen in a normal situation!
Now why did I just rant on about my son and his bedtime routine?
Well, I think it helps if you think of the market in a similar way…
Over the last year and a half, and especially the last 8 weeks, the market’s been so news driven and sensitive. One small number can send the S&P careening 30 points in 5 minutes.
So, what’s a trader to do?
Well, I think it’s a great time to ‘Tame Your Trade Monster’.
Your Trade Monster’s the mindset, or the person inside you, that gets in your way of making money in the stock market. It’s your Trade Monster that convinces you to bail on positions at the lows, or the even worse situation, adding hedges there. It’s the monster that appears when you’re having a difficult time, losing money, or don’t have your head on straight. He comes out when you aren’t treating your trading business like a business, and instead you’re letting your emotional reactions take control.
So, what do you do?
Get back to basics. Focus on setups. Focus on technicals. More than that, focus on risk and probabilities. Know that everything we do is based on a pattern and probability, and while this time may be a little crazy, there were times like this before… and there will be again. And, ignoring the difficulty doesn’t make it go away. Just the opposite — it makes it worse.
You have to Tame Your Trade Monster.
Want to learn more about how John and I do this?
Check out this psychology class that we taught last year, for all our best tips and tricks. Sometimes, what you need isn’t another strategy. or indicator. What you need is to calm your mind. Learn more here.
