Delusions of Grandeur - Breaking Your Trading ModelIn this video I would like to talk about a mistake many beginners as well as intermediate traders make, which is having a potentially profitable trading model, and pushing it to the point it stops working. I will discuss WHY it happens, WHY it never works, and WHY you should avoid this blunder.
Your trading model is the strategy that you use to trade with. It can include how you determine your entries, stoplosses, and targets, as well as how you manage risk. The only way to know if a trading model works, and how well it works if it even does at all, is through backtesting and forwardtesting. The more data you collect, the more insight into the model you will have. The main thing I want you to keep in mind is that a trading model’s efficacy relies on collected data, and this data must be consistent. It’s the same as any other industry that does research on their market or products.
So, why do so many traders push a model until it stops yielding them profit?
I would say the first reason is impatience. Humans are impatient, especially nowadays in this of social media and technology. Some traders won’t spend the time doing all the necessary testing required. They want to start making money as quick as possible, but little do they know they end up losing their account as quick as possible. Secondly, it takes time for your setups to appear in the market. People have this naturally preconceived notion that you need to be doing something in order to be working and making money. This is the complete opposite in trading, which goes against our programming. So what ends up happening is traders being less stringent with their model’s criteria just so they can trade more often.
Next is greed. Generally speaking, the safest way to survive as a trader in the long run is through compound interest. Risking small, and letting the math do the work. But that’s not very sexy. Many traders go against their logical risk rules in order to potentially make more money, or more likely, lose more money, or all of it.
Boredom is a factor as well. Seeking excitement from trading is a one-way ticket to blowing your account. You’ll never make it as a trader if you think like that. All good systems are rarely thrilling. It is perfectly fine to be in love with trading, but it should not get your heart racing.
It all comes down to being disciplined. Doing the work, putting in the time, and following the trading model you have either adopted or created yourself. It absolutely doesn’t matter if you have losing trades. It absolutely doesn’t matter if your trade setup appears only once or twice a month. Those are not hindering you from becoming very wealthy in due time. But, running around jumping from strategy to strategy, not sticking to a model’s rules, those things will ensure that you never make it as a trader. It is as simple as that.
I know, it is not easy for many of you. It wasn’t easy for me as well. I am naturally face-paced. So, one piece of advice I have is cultivate organized baby steps. What does that mean? Clearly plan what you want to achieve, and then start with frequent tiny goals that you have no reason to not accomplish. For example, you want to collect data for 500 backtested trades. Start with the goal of backtesting 1 trade per day for a week. The important part here is not only making sure you do that 1 trade backtest, but making sure you ONLY do 1. If you are in the “mood” to do more, DON’T. What would it demonstrate if your decisions are based on your mood? What will happen when you are in the mood to do none? If you say 1 trade, stick to 1 trade. After a week, you can stick with 1 or scale up to 2 backtested trades per day for a week if you are ready, or perhaps a month, it’s up to you. This is just an example. You can apply this method to anything. Basically, you want to condition yourself to be consistent and disciplined. You want to show yourself that YOU are the boss of your life. YOU consciously decide what happens, not your emotions. The only way to do that is to grow that muscle bit by bit. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
- R2F
