My challenge... to become more disciplined

Fearthainn · 10th November 2011, 07:46 PM

Hi all,

I have created my first blog (in general, not only regarding trading). You can access it using the link below:

http://bftradingdream.blogspot.com/

I am open to any suggestions / questions you may have.

I have been trading for around a year. I mostly do it for fun although I am in profit since I joined BF which is not bad I guess. However, my profits have more often than not been blown away by some desperate chasing and lack of emotional discipline. I figured that creating a blog and knowing that other people are out there checking my progress will help me be less inclined to become frustrated by a few losses, and be useful when I want to remember the bigger picture.

I haven't written at length regarding any particular trades I guess, so that's definitely something that could be improved. It's just a very simple setup at the moment, mostly posting my P&L. I'm thinking about starting to write a paragraph or two every day about my strongest selections for the next day.

Anyway that's all for now... Thanks to whoever takes the time to read it.

Fearthainn · 10th November 2011, 07:53 PM

Forgot to say that if someone wants to add my blog to their list I will obviously do the same.

shadowninja · 10th November 2011, 08:49 PM

I wish you luck in beating the inner demon. I think one issue on a subconscious level is that you say you "mostly do it for fun". This says to me that you don't take it seriously as a business or potential source of secondary income (presumably, you have an income stream eg job). This means that when you lose, you may just shrug your shoulders and think, "Easy come, easy go, just a bit of a laff" and that you find the winning and losing a bit exciting. Now, there's nothing wrong with being pleased or patting yourself on the back when the market moves in your favour, but if it's fun, then part of the fun is when you could lose money and it's like a coin flip or dice roll.

gorgeous-george · 10th November 2011, 09:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shadowninja

I wish you luck in beating the inner demon. I think one issue on a subconscious level is that you say you "mostly do it for fun". This says to me that you don't take it seriously as a business or potential source of secondary income (presumably, you have an income stream eg job). This means that when you lose, you may just shrug your shoulders and think, "Easy come, easy go, just a bit of a laff" and that you find the winning and losing a bit exciting. Now, there's nothing wrong with being pleased or patting yourself on the back when the market moves in your favour, but if it's fun, then part of the fun is when you could lose money and it's like a coin flip or dice roll.

I think the OP means fun in the sense of enjoying doing it, it doesn't mean that he is any less professional about it, maybe just doesn't "need" to win to make a living etc.... Trading does not have to be mind numbingly boring for you to succeed!

shadowninja · 10th November 2011, 09:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gorgeous-george

I think the OP means fun in the sense of enjoying doing it, it doesn't mean that he is any less professional about it, maybe just doesn't "need" to win to make a living etc.... Trading does not have to be mind numbingly boring for you to succeed!

I didn't mean having a need. In fact, when you have that kind of pressure, you will also have a tendency to take risks. "Scared money", they call it.

Fearthainn · 11th November 2011, 07:22 AM

Thanks both for the replies. I can see where you are coming from ninja, and that was probably an issue at the beginning. I have always had smallish banks, I am not trying to do this for a living as I have a stable job... So I thought it wasn't a big deal to chase a few losses and see what happened.

And that was definitely exciting, but obviously in the end I was more often than not left feeling disappointed. Even if I won these chases I would not feel happy with myself, knowing it was luck more than anything. I couldn't win.

So what I mean by "fun" now, is developing myself and see what I'm made of... It can be exciting to put half of your bank in one bet and let it ride, but I think it's far more rewarding to learn how to control yourself, to learn how to think clearly when you're under pressure, to keep calm after 10 reds in a row. That is what I mean by fun now, because I definitely enjoy challenging myself. I have realised that there is a lot of potential in this for a second income. I think starting a blog means that I am now trying to take it seriously - at least to me it does.

Fearthainn · 11th November 2011, 07:51 AM

I've just published a new post by the way. I've tried to go a bit more in depth on why I'll pick certain matches to trade on tonight.

Fearthainn · 12th November 2011, 09:48 AM

Happy with that - most of the predictions I posted yesterday came good, so I might keep doing this in the future. Eventful day!

If someone is following feel free to leave a comment or two here or there!

Fearthainn · 18th November 2011, 09:40 AM

I reached 100 Euros yesterday from the initial 20, so I withdrew the 20 and I'm only trading with the profits now. I have to say this is really the most disciplined I've ever been, having created a blog really helps and I'm also keeping record of all my actions in an excel file. Haven't updated the blog with this news yet but will do so later!

Fearthainn · 18th November 2011, 09:43 AM

Also do you people think I should remove the ads from the blog?

I was just excited having a blog for the first time and having all these options so I joined this AdSense thing to see what happened. Not really expecting to make money from it or anything.

I think I'll just put a flag counter instead or something

shadowninja · 18th November 2011, 11:20 AM

Congrats with breaching the €100 mark!

That reminds me - I ought to withdraw my £50 deposit as I slowly approach the £1k mark.

Fearthainn · 19th November 2011, 08:01 AM

Thanks, your achievement is far more impressive though! How long did it take you to get close to 1000?

I'll be very happy if I can get close to 400-500 before the end of the year. Fingers crossed although it hasn't got much to do with luck!

shadowninja · 19th November 2011, 09:29 AM

The highs and lows here:
http://www.trade2win.com/boards/trad...challenge.html

I was right down to my lowest in March and by end of July had £240. I was putting up about 25% of my account at a time once I was convinced I had something that was profitable in the long run. It's a bit confusing because although I had deposited £50, for the purpose of the challenge, I ignored £30 of that.

PC0845 · 21st November 2011, 08:54 AM

Not going to rewrite a post I made earlier, check it out here :

Mr Messi - Please take my photo

PC0845 · 21st November 2011, 09:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shadowninja

The highs and lows here:
http://www.trade2win.com/boards/trad...challenge.html

Can't believe I haven't read your BLOG before, really good site.

Fearthainn · 25th November 2011, 01:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shadowninja

The highs and lows here:
http://www.trade2win.com/boards/trad...challenge.html

I was right down to my lowest in March and by end of July had £240. I was putting up about 25% of my account at a time once I was convinced I had something that was profitable in the long run. It's a bit confusing because although I had deposited £50, for the purpose of the challenge, I ignored £30 of that.

Just checked it now, I was a bit lazy to register

Great stuff, have you reached those 1000 yet?

I have just crossed 250 today.

CanaryDwarf · 22nd December 2011, 10:20 PM

Hey Ninja did you ever make the 1000? That Fontwell IR trading using the ladders seemed crazy ... for the life of me I couldn't follow what you were doing! Nice green at the end though ...

10th November 2011, 07:46 PM	#1
Fearthainn Novice Join Date: May 2011 Posts: 25 Thanks: 6 Thanked 6 Times in 5 Posts	My challenge... to become more disciplined Hi all, I have created my first blog (in general, not only regarding trading). You can access it using the link below: http://bftradingdream.blogspot.com/ I am open to any suggestions / questions you may have. I have been trading for around a year. I mostly do it for fun although I am in profit since I joined BF which is not bad I guess. However, my profits have more often than not been blown away by some desperate chasing and lack of emotional discipline. I figured that creating a blog and knowing that other people are out there checking my progress will help me be less inclined to become frustrated by a few losses, and be useful when I want to remember the bigger picture. I haven't written at length regarding any particular trades I guess, so that's definitely something that could be improved. It's just a very simple setup at the moment, mostly posting my P&L. I'm thinking about starting to write a paragraph or two every day about my strongest selections for the next day. Anyway that's all for now... Thanks to whoever takes the time to read it.

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10th November 2011, 07:53 PM	#2
Fearthainn Novice Join Date: May 2011 Posts: 25 Thanks: 6 Thanked 6 Times in 5 Posts	Forgot to say that if someone wants to add my blog to their list I will obviously do the same.

10th November 2011, 08:49 PM	#3
shadowninja Forum Guru Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: London, England Posts: 1,919 Thanks: 903 Thanked 1,087 Times in 598 Posts	I wish you luck in beating the inner demon. I think one issue on a subconscious level is that you say you "mostly do it for fun". This says to me that you don't take it seriously as a business or potential source of secondary income (presumably, you have an income stream eg job). This means that when you lose, you may just shrug your shoulders and think, "Easy come, easy go, just a bit of a laff" and that you find the winning and losing a bit exciting. Now, there's nothing wrong with being pleased or patting yourself on the back when the market moves in your favour, but if it's fun, then part of the fun is when you could lose money and it's like a coin flip or dice roll.

11th November 2011, 07:22 AM	#6
Fearthainn Novice Join Date: May 2011 Posts: 25 Thanks: 6 Thanked 6 Times in 5 Posts	Thanks both for the replies. I can see where you are coming from ninja, and that was probably an issue at the beginning. I have always had smallish banks, I am not trying to do this for a living as I have a stable job... So I thought it wasn't a big deal to chase a few losses and see what happened. And that was definitely exciting, but obviously in the end I was more often than not left feeling disappointed. Even if I won these chases I would not feel happy with myself, knowing it was luck more than anything. I couldn't win. So what I mean by "fun" now, is developing myself and see what I'm made of... It can be exciting to put half of your bank in one bet and let it ride, but I think it's far more rewarding to learn how to control yourself, to learn how to think clearly when you're under pressure, to keep calm after 10 reds in a row. That is what I mean by fun now, because I definitely enjoy challenging myself. I have realised that there is a lot of potential in this for a second income. I think starting a blog means that I am now trying to take it seriously - at least to me it does.

11th November 2011, 07:51 AM	#7
Fearthainn Novice Join Date: May 2011 Posts: 25 Thanks: 6 Thanked 6 Times in 5 Posts	I've just published a new post by the way. I've tried to go a bit more in depth on why I'll pick certain matches to trade on tonight.

12th November 2011, 09:48 AM	#8
Fearthainn Novice Join Date: May 2011 Posts: 25 Thanks: 6 Thanked 6 Times in 5 Posts	Happy with that - most of the predictions I posted yesterday came good, so I might keep doing this in the future. Eventful day! If someone is following feel free to leave a comment or two here or there!

18th November 2011, 09:40 AM	#9
Fearthainn Novice Join Date: May 2011 Posts: 25 Thanks: 6 Thanked 6 Times in 5 Posts	I reached 100 Euros yesterday from the initial 20, so I withdrew the 20 and I'm only trading with the profits now. I have to say this is really the most disciplined I've ever been, having created a blog really helps and I'm also keeping record of all my actions in an excel file. Haven't updated the blog with this news yet but will do so later!

18th November 2011, 09:43 AM	#10
Fearthainn Novice Join Date: May 2011 Posts: 25 Thanks: 6 Thanked 6 Times in 5 Posts	Also do you people think I should remove the ads from the blog? I was just excited having a blog for the first time and having all these options so I joined this AdSense thing to see what happened. Not really expecting to make money from it or anything. I think I'll just put a flag counter instead or something

18th November 2011, 11:20 AM	#11
shadowninja Forum Guru Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: London, England Posts: 1,919 Thanks: 903 Thanked 1,087 Times in 598 Posts	Congrats with breaching the €100 mark! That reminds me - I ought to withdraw my £50 deposit as I slowly approach the £1k mark.

19th November 2011, 08:01 AM	#12
Fearthainn Novice Join Date: May 2011 Posts: 25 Thanks: 6 Thanked 6 Times in 5 Posts	Thanks, your achievement is far more impressive though! How long did it take you to get close to 1000? I'll be very happy if I can get close to 400-500 before the end of the year. Fingers crossed although it hasn't got much to do with luck!

19th November 2011, 09:29 AM	#13
shadowninja Forum Guru Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: London, England Posts: 1,919 Thanks: 903 Thanked 1,087 Times in 598 Posts	The highs and lows here: http://www.trade2win.com/boards/trad...challenge.html I was right down to my lowest in March and by end of July had £240. I was putting up about 25% of my account at a time once I was convinced I had something that was profitable in the long run. It's a bit confusing because although I had deposited £50, for the purpose of the challenge, I ignored £30 of that.

21st November 2011, 08:54 AM	#14
PC0845 Forum Guru Join Date: May 2010 Location: Waterford Ireland Posts: 825 Thanks: 515 Thanked 568 Times in 248 Posts	Not going to rewrite a post I made earlier, check it out here : Mr Messi - Please take my photo

22nd December 2011, 10:20 PM	#17
CanaryDwarf Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Posts: 37 Thanks: 21 Thanked 36 Times in 19 Posts	Hey Ninja did you ever make the 1000? That Fontwell IR trading using the ladders seemed crazy ... for the life of me I couldn't follow what you were doing! Nice green at the end though ...