Hey there traders,
Sara here with a confession to make: I missed a big opportunity this week…
From time to time I miss one trade or another but this one hit differently...
Anyway, instead of sulking about it, I decided to share my experience with you all.
So, picture this:
I was on the charts on Wednesday, with my eyes on a potential setup.
Everything was looking great, and I was ready to pull the trigger. I just had to wait for the candle closure, as always.
But then, I made a rookie mistake - I got distracted by another tab I had open overnight.
Next thing I knew, the trigger candle had closed, and I missed my chance.
I tried to salvage the situation with a limit order in case price retraced, but guess what?
Right after the key candle closed, the next one went straight down.
Price never saw a floor, not in the London session… nor in the New York session! (Usually, I assure my first partial on the London session and hold the trade over New York risk-free and go do my life.)
The result?
I missed 12R on the first partial profit and a whopping 15R on the second, let alone the runner I would’ve left. A big chunk of profits could’ve been made. It was a huge missed opportunity.
It’s not that I never miss trades or do mistakes in my trading, I learned to accept them and quickly move on. But this one… I didn’t miss it because the setup was unclear or the price wasn’t in the best shape… I missed out of distraction… sloppiness. And that’s what hurt the most.
I felt guilty.
But did I let that guilt ruin my performance for the rest of the session?
Hell no!
Why am I telling you this?
Because I’m so angry that I had to vent out.
Jokes aside…
I’m telling you this because I want to propose a change in your perspective that helps me get over mistakes quickly.
I see traders get stuck in one small mistake just to watch themselves make the next one.
They’re so caught in the past pain and tunnel-focused on what happened that they can’t see beyond that!
This is what makes them enter a downward spiral of unconscious behavior and when they realize it, it’s too late. They wish they could return to that first missed trade when they could still turn things around.
This leads to regret and a huge loss of confidence.
So I propose to all of you a change in mindset:
The next time you miss a trade or make a mistake, try this: Imagine the worst future possible.
Think about what would happen if you kept making the same mistake over and over again.
Trust me, it's a real eye-opener.
What can be worst than one missing trade? Missing all the trades in the session!
What can be worst than one trade taken outside of your criteria? You guessed it…
Until you don’t detach from what happened, you’ll drag the pain with you for the next trades and that, my friends, is what I call “trading in the past”.
Our brains are wired to predict the future: if you predict pain, you'll be more likely to avoid making the same mistake again.
This upcoming week, if you start your trading session with a mistake, remember to imagine a worse future and work to not let that come true.
Enjoy your Sunday,
P.S. Don't open distracting tabs while you are trading!
With love,
Sara
Open Live Class:
On April 8th, Saturday, I’ll host an open live class on How To Break Free From Overtrading.
If you’ve been:
Seeking action in the market and taking trades outside of your strategy;
Making impulsive decisions just to regret them right after;
Trading with anxiety and pressure to not achieve results.
This class is for you!
Join us on April 8th at 4:30 pm CET timezone (GMT+2):
Update: Peak Performance Trading Program
I’m accepting new traders to work with 1:1 for April.
If you’re interested in a personalized approach to fixing your performance flaws for good and finding peace in your trading, fill out the qualification form here and we’ll enter in contact with you.
This is really amazing perspective Sara .....Gratitude
Sorry about that missed trade Sara. That’s good advice to imagine a future where we keep repeating that mistake. Good visualization exercise to motivate a change of behavior