Consistently successful traders are continually concerned about whether or not their analysis is correct; that is, if they are seeing things as they are. They have a healthy respect for the fact that the nature of the markets is change, and that even when cyclical data is in the charts, the markets are still subject to fluctuations and volatility. Due to the nature of the markets, it is important to discover distortions in your judgment and distractions to your thinking in order to resonate with reality. Distortions and distractions are generated, almost invariably, from internal data; for instance, limiting beliefs, errant emotions, and negative internal conversations that cause lots of internal noise leading to visual pollution and eventually to executions not aligned with the charts, eventually providing results you don't want. So, it's about seeing clearly, along with consistent, effective behavior.

Where do breakdowns in perception come from and where are losses generated? They come from interpretations based upon faulty conclusions derived from meanings not aligned with reality. If, for example, you: "See" a symmetrical triangle that formed over three months and you "believe" it is going to break to the upside, and you get excited and impulsively buy a long option with only 1 month of time because it's going to break soon and you don't need to pay the extra premium for time, then your emotions (excitement and greed) have misguided your perception. You enter the trade with behavior that is based upon distorted judgment and distracting emotions. Let's say you have a rule about always buying 2 or 3 months for a normal option and, if the price pattern considered takes several months to form, then your rule says you should buy more time, but you ignore the trading rule with a rationalization. Part of what you tell yourself is that it should break-up and should do it soon because it is so perfect. You begin to should on yourself (a very smelly proposition). Language like should, shouldn't, must, can't, and "gonna" all have one thing in common: They are not based in fact but are based on assumption; you made something up, which creates F.E.A.R. - False Events Appearing Real. So, based upon what you see, you enter the trade and as soon as you do, the price action goes the other way; it drops like a brick. And, of course, you panic and grab the "hopium" (you know that trader drug), hoping it will come back. And it does, 6 weeks later, long after the option has expired worthless and you have taken a hefty loss.

Now the only should applicable here is that you should have lost. Yes, you should have lost. Because, based upon the conditions and circumstances present, you bought just the right amount of time, responded to just the right amount of assumptions, and engaged just the right execution in order to crash and burn. The universe is based on cause and effect. You created the cause through flawed logic based upon inaccurate data, and disregarded important facts. It's like the law of gravity. If we drop something it will fall until operated upon by an intervening variable, like the floor. How do we know that? Because it does. How do we know you should have lost? Because you did. You get the results you should get based upon the circumstances and conditions present. The definition of insanity is expecting a different result when we keep doing the same thing, continuing to trade using the strategy of loss, i.e., "Put my head down and barrel forward disregarding my rules and going on what I'm making up - in other words, 'gambling.'"

And, what if the price action goes in your direction? How can you know this was not an accident? You know this by interpretations and analysis based upon the chart and by following your rules. The goal is to remain in the process of self-awareness during the entire trade. The successful result is a function of self-awareness and deliberate execution, not money gained. If you realize you are duplicating losing behavior, exit, even if the trade has a profit. By exiting the market when you are duplicating losing behavior, you eliminate the potential for accidental profits, which give the illusion of true skill. With a focus on the commitment to effective protocols, you foster skill-building and make your-self available for new learning opportunities. You want to enhance capacity for skill-building by not supporting unskilled trading by chance or gambling - even when profitable. You want to only support behavior that is goal or skill-oriented so that this skill is strengthened and honed.

Many who venture into the world of financial markets to be a trader are successful in other places in their lives. But the habits and traits that caused you to be successful in, say, the corporate world have the opposite effect on trading. Rather than being support mechanisms, many corporate habits are downright liabilities. For instance, working hard in a trade will only lead to stress and constriction. Working hard is antithetical to being relaxed, calm and centered. Another is being good at multi-tasking; multi-tasking, even if you can track your trades well, leads to over-exposure in the market and quickly violates money management rules. Being fast and executing quickly can be a great snatcher of money in the market. You can't rush the market. It moves, travels and dances to its own rhythm and pace. Additionally, you won't and can't force a trade through will or sheer power of personality. The market cares nothing about how much money you have or do not have - either it is in the set-up, or it is not.

So, getting results that you should get begins with clarity of vision, clarity of thought and consistent, effective behavior that follows a well-constructed plan. Getting the results you should get also starts with setting up the cause through well-established protocols, effective routines that then lead to strong positive habits, which will skill-build. This is part of what is taught in Mastering the Mental Game where we show you how to bring your "A" Game to your platform, consistently. Ask your Education Counselor for more information.