With all the content out there, it’s so easy to get ideas for trading strategies. This, in turn, makes it easier to move from one strategy to the next. And influencers knows exactly how to hook you into trying their strategies… especially when you are new. But strategy hopping rarely works. This post suggests that you start looking at yourself rather than for another strategy. Let’s get into it.
Can You Justify the Reasons for Changing Your Strategy?
We normally change or want to change strategies the moment the strategy is not “producing” – meaning that it’s not making us any money, or we are losing money. Is this really so? Let’s have a look.
Can you truly blame your strategy if:
- You don’t give the strategy enough time to prove itself?
- You trade strategies you find online without validating / back testing them?
- You go into big drawdowns because you are risking too big?
- You don’t adhere to your predefined stop losses?
- You don’t stick to your predefined profit targets?
- You lose money on avoidable mistakes?
- You keep looking for the holy grail?
- You are in immediate need for money?
- You are always comparing yourself to others?
From the above, can you truly justify blaming the strategy for not performing? If you look more closely, you’ll find that the common factor for your strategy not performing is you.
Now, imagine, instead of looking for another strategy, you change your approach and:
- Decide you are going to give your strategy a fair chance… that you are going to stick with it for 20 / 50 / 100 trades, no matter what.
- Decide you are going to back test your strategy.
- Decide to risk a little smaller.
- Start working on sticking to your stops.
- Start working on finding ways to stick to your profit targets.
- Work on avoiding silly mistakes.
- Realize and make peace with the fact that there is no holy grail trading system; that you cannot predict what the market will do.
- You let go of your need for instant gratification. And it’s not just instant gratification. Many people come to trading with financial problems (needing money), thinking trading is their way out – this is most definitely not the best way to start trading.
- Decide to stop comparing yourself to others. Imagine comparing yourself to people you know nothing about? You don’t know where they are from, how old they are, there financial position, or if they are truly profitable? It’s like comparing yourself to a phantom. Yet, you change your strategy because they post big profits… it’s like they are controlling you. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want anyone controlling me.
I truly hope you get what I’m trying to get across here. No amount of strategy hopping will make you profitable. That is, until you start looking at yourself and working on yourself. A great starting point is to begin a simple trading journal and reviewing your trades.
Finally:
It’s always easier to play the blame game, in this case, to blame the strategy instead of yourself. The sooner you get this, the sooner you’ll improve.
Thanks so much for reading. I trust that you found this post insightful.
Thanks and Regards,
Trading SOS SOS
