The Glass Is Already Broken
"Fortune falls heavily on those for whom she's unexpected. The one always on the lookout easily endures."
—SENECA, ON CONSOLATION TO HELVIA, 5.3
An interesting meditation today and we can use this analogy when trading, just as the stoics use it for every day life.
If we get too attached to our trades, we can be devastated when they go against us, because it isn't in the plan! Actually it should be in our plan, because there will be occasions when the odd trade will go against us. We need to be ready to expect the unexpected, every time that we enter a trade, so that we can be prepared to cut short a losing trade at our pre-agreed exit point, before it becomes unmanageable and a serious threat to our trading bank!
If we have it in our mind that our trades can just as easily go against us, as for us, we already have that acceptance and it isn't a shock that catches us off guard, when it happens because we are 100% ready to react swiftly when required.
I mentioned in yesterday's daily journal that we mustn't become over-confident and/or complacent in our trading and having this mindset of knowing that anything can happen once we enter a trade, regardless of what the stats/data are telling us, will help avoid this happening.
Obviously this is something that needs plenty of practice, just like getting to know your strategies inside out and back to front. By developing this mindset in our trading, it won't be such a shock that we can't deal with it quickly enough. So it's a case of rinse and repeat, using the correct mindset and when those trades that are going against us appear on occasion, we deal with them consistently and confidently.
Controlled losses are part and parcel of trading and we must accept this on our trading journey.
As long as you can control those losses, when they come around, you will be successful long term; because the more regular profitable trades will far outweigh those occasional controlled losses for sure!