People who are in the process of becoming professional tradersThey often go through a phase where they win one day, win another day, another day, and then suddenly lose everything they had accumulated.
Something like starting Monday gaining four points, continuing on Tuesday winning another two, on Wednesday another four, and then on Thursday losing six points and on Friday four.
Spend the weekend going over charts and face the week ahead with a clear determination to get it right… start winning, keep winning… end losing…
Why is that? What strange motive pushes the trader to do crazy things at the end of the week already return everything you have earned?
This cycle, being very common, has an easy solution. What we will do is use our unconscious mind to work for us. We will set a weekly profit target, and we will commit to stop trading when we have reached it. Suppose our goal is ten points… Once we reach this goal we will stop for the rest of the week. It doesn’t matter if we reach it on Wednesday than on Monday. Once we have achieved it, we stop operating until next Monday.
How is this practice going to help you achieve consistency? Putting your mind to work in your favor. We know that most traders associate negative emotions with being in the market. Fear, frustration, anger or despair are some of the most common. On the other hand, we know that our mind reacts in the same way to an imagined stimulus as to a real one. When we reach our goal and move away from the market, we are telling our mind what it has to do to avoid that emotionally threatening situation.
The message is that once we have achieved the goal, that we have set ourselves, we can stop being in that negative environment, and your unconscious will not take long to achieve just that.
You have decided that your objective is, for example, ten points, and on Wednesday you already have them. On Thursday and Friday you are out of the market, doing other activities and your mind is rewarded in the absence of a negative stimulus. The following week you start trading and you may reach your goal on Tuesday. You take the rest of the week off, and your mind reinforces the idea that, to achieve that peace of mind, all you have to do is facilitate the achievement of your points goal.
With this practice you are getting your unconscious to work in your favor, and to do whatever is necessary to facilitate your success. Now, for this message to make sense it is absolutely essential that we follow through on our commitment, and walk away from the market once it is achieved. If we want to cheat, we will send a contradictory message that will plunge us back into the despair of winning and returning the profits to the market.
This practice is very simple and works fantastically harnessing the power of emotions in our favor.