On Frustration in Achieving Success

Another email I had this week was from a trader who was expressing frustration at not being able to achieve consistent rewards in his trading despite studying many different strategies and styles of trading. Part of my reply was as follows:

I think that nearly every single one of us has had to deal with that point in time where we have asked ourselves if it was worth it.... I know very few traders that are "a natural." Most that are instantly successful quickly learn that they did not become such through skill and that they had a great deal still to learn to actually achieve consistency. It is more typical, to be stuck at breakeven or loose. It is not unusual for it to take several years to turn the corner.

A lot of it comes down to hesitation and not trusting our instincts by that point, because after a couple of years you should have a decent understanding of market dynamics, although it does often surprise me how so many people get wrapped up in different intricate strategies that they have never even considered many of the things I included in my CD course you were asking about. With time though, as long as you are using those methods and not flipping back and forth between strategies, then that comfort level will develop and you'll find yourself not hesitating or making as many incorrect decisions.

I remember that the one thing that always drove me insane was that I would find 6 or 7 great setups in a day and take 2 which underperformed and for whatever reason I simply could not pull the trigger on the others, even though I saw them develop and was convinced they would work. It was almost as if I could not take something that looked perfect and was settling for mediocre. So, I certainly understand where that frustration comes from, although identifying where it comes from and how to overcome it can still be a challenge! For me, it was really just seeing things over and over again, keeping records of them that built the confidence necessary to act correctly. Most traders never actually keep a trading journal in which they print out charts of the trades to study afterwards, let alone print out the ones they saw yet didn't take. If they did so, however, it would cut their learning curve dramatically!