Bad Assed Trader: Firstly a rain check on how Gold has gone since I rather boldly suggested on my last blog on September 12th that the price would drop, probably to around 1750.
As you can see from the Gold daily chart to the left the price has gradually dropped down to 1762.50. It might possibly drop further, but it does pretty much have what we call a "train track" at the bottom of the dip - this is where the seller (red) bar taking it down is matched in size by a buyer (green) bar taking it back up. This pattern is bullish and suggests price is reversing and heading back up.
Where will it go up to though? It's had some difficulty conclusively breaching the 1900 level and it is likely we'll get some interference at that level. Price could push through this time, sometimes it seems to take a couple of tries before a third attempt pushes through a resistance level when it's a number of psychological significance which 1900 clearly is.
On the other hand we could end up with a head and shoulders pattern if price turns back down before reaching 1900. This is a bearish pattern and so time to take a long trade off if that happens.
So that's gold and I'm still not trading it! I do like to prove to myself that I can get into the flow of a market and anticipate moves but to be honest trading those moves is much harder as everything depends on your entry and exit points. This is why we have strategies and why we have to conquer our psychology.
I've been taking my psychology into hand recently and it seems (early days yet) to be helping. One way I've done this is by enrolling on a diploma course in executive coaching. This has a number of benefits as my life as a Faceless Bureaucrat draws to a close in just 2 weeks and may generate private work to keep some income flowing my way.
My primary reason for doing the course was to learn to coach myself better with my trading. The interesting thing is that I get free coaching on the course from other trainee coaches and I've started bringing my trading issues to them to work through. Now you may recall I already have an amazing trading coach, Emmanuel, who I visit regularly at the live trading floor where I receive my trader training. But I believe one can never have too many coaches - it all helps....
So just yesterday I was coached through my mindset when being a successful trader and when being an unsuccessful trader. It was great to be able to describe out loud how I feel when I'm taking losing trades - or a string of them - as opposed to when I'm consistently winning. I'm not talking about how I feel after the wins or losses, but the frame of mind I'm in when I'm trading which ends up bringing wins or losses.
Now I've been trading for over a year I'm starting to see and recognise the difference IN ME when I trade well and less well. Maybe I'm just slow but it's taken a lot of trading to be able to start pinpointing the mindset, the feelings, the thoughts that guide or misguide me.
This is crucial if I'm to develop that level of consistent success. Fully accepting (of course) that I will always have some losing trades as the market is so random, but that I have complete responsibility for creating the conditions to maximise my success.
This means controlling myself by putting myself into the optimum frame of mind for trading for a start. For me this is a relaxed state, calm, almost distant. I know that in life I am prone to getting absorbed in my tasks and I can't let myself get absorbed by trading or I end up letting my "ratty brain" as I call it control my actions and THIS ALWAYS LEADS TO MY BIGGEST STRINGS OF LOSSES.
I know, from recognising it happen twice, that after a string of successes I get absorbed in that way and end up over trading and giving it all back. I know now I have to pause after a series of wins and regain my balance.
I have of course heard of this phenomena from other more experienced traders but I guess I was probably in denial. Perhaps deep down I like to think I'm super human and not afflicted with the traits and weaknesses that others suffer. Trading has shown me, with stark evidence, that I am actually a full paid up member of the human race and the sooner I come to terms with that and find ways to deal with it the better my trading results will be. I suppose I should be relieved really to know I'm part of this big family of human beings, just a girl from the planet Earth and not part robot or alien or anything.
When I am in denial about my humanity in this way I am not acknowledging and therefore unable to recognise the completely normal human traits I have. Coaching has already taught me that awareness raising about one's strengths and weaknesses is the key to improving performance. I love this quote from John Whitmore in "Coaching for Performance"
"I am able to control only that of which I am aware. That of which I am unaware controls me. Awareness empowers me."
This is just so totally applicable to trading and to where I am now on my journey of discovery. By coaching myself I hope to gain deeper knowledge of my trading behaviour and therefore take more control of it.
It's one of the most exciting journeys I've ever made because I'm discovering parts of me that were unseen, unknown and yet silently pulling my strings.
We journey abroad to make new discoveries, sometimes the most fascinating are inside ourselves.
 |
| Gold at close of September 16 2011 |
Where will it go up to though? It's had some difficulty conclusively breaching the 1900 level and it is likely we'll get some interference at that level. Price could push through this time, sometimes it seems to take a couple of tries before a third attempt pushes through a resistance level when it's a number of psychological significance which 1900 clearly is.
On the other hand we could end up with a head and shoulders pattern if price turns back down before reaching 1900. This is a bearish pattern and so time to take a long trade off if that happens.
So that's gold and I'm still not trading it! I do like to prove to myself that I can get into the flow of a market and anticipate moves but to be honest trading those moves is much harder as everything depends on your entry and exit points. This is why we have strategies and why we have to conquer our psychology.
I've been taking my psychology into hand recently and it seems (early days yet) to be helping. One way I've done this is by enrolling on a diploma course in executive coaching. This has a number of benefits as my life as a Faceless Bureaucrat draws to a close in just 2 weeks and may generate private work to keep some income flowing my way.
My primary reason for doing the course was to learn to coach myself better with my trading. The interesting thing is that I get free coaching on the course from other trainee coaches and I've started bringing my trading issues to them to work through. Now you may recall I already have an amazing trading coach, Emmanuel, who I visit regularly at the live trading floor where I receive my trader training. But I believe one can never have too many coaches - it all helps....
So just yesterday I was coached through my mindset when being a successful trader and when being an unsuccessful trader. It was great to be able to describe out loud how I feel when I'm taking losing trades - or a string of them - as opposed to when I'm consistently winning. I'm not talking about how I feel after the wins or losses, but the frame of mind I'm in when I'm trading which ends up bringing wins or losses.
Now I've been trading for over a year I'm starting to see and recognise the difference IN ME when I trade well and less well. Maybe I'm just slow but it's taken a lot of trading to be able to start pinpointing the mindset, the feelings, the thoughts that guide or misguide me.
This is crucial if I'm to develop that level of consistent success. Fully accepting (of course) that I will always have some losing trades as the market is so random, but that I have complete responsibility for creating the conditions to maximise my success.
This means controlling myself by putting myself into the optimum frame of mind for trading for a start. For me this is a relaxed state, calm, almost distant. I know that in life I am prone to getting absorbed in my tasks and I can't let myself get absorbed by trading or I end up letting my "ratty brain" as I call it control my actions and THIS ALWAYS LEADS TO MY BIGGEST STRINGS OF LOSSES.
I know, from recognising it happen twice, that after a string of successes I get absorbed in that way and end up over trading and giving it all back. I know now I have to pause after a series of wins and regain my balance.
I have of course heard of this phenomena from other more experienced traders but I guess I was probably in denial. Perhaps deep down I like to think I'm super human and not afflicted with the traits and weaknesses that others suffer. Trading has shown me, with stark evidence, that I am actually a full paid up member of the human race and the sooner I come to terms with that and find ways to deal with it the better my trading results will be. I suppose I should be relieved really to know I'm part of this big family of human beings, just a girl from the planet Earth and not part robot or alien or anything.
"I am able to control only that of which I am aware. That of which I am unaware controls me. Awareness empowers me."
This is just so totally applicable to trading and to where I am now on my journey of discovery. By coaching myself I hope to gain deeper knowledge of my trading behaviour and therefore take more control of it.
It's one of the most exciting journeys I've ever made because I'm discovering parts of me that were unseen, unknown and yet silently pulling my strings.
We journey abroad to make new discoveries, sometimes the most fascinating are inside ourselves.
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