HAVE A FANTABULOUS WEDNESDAY

That's the thing about depression: A human being can survive almost anything, as long as she sees the end in sight. But depression is so insidious, and it compounds daily, that it's impossible to ever see the end. The fog is like a cage without a key.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  -Elizabeth Wurtzel

How do you stay in control when trading wild markets?

Over the last several years the stock market has been doing nothing

but going up, save the 5 or 10% corrections that occur every few

months.

But when you're on top of the markets every day as we traders are,

extreme thoughts start to creep into our heads every time one of 

those corrections are underway.

‘This could be the big one!’ ‘Should I get out of all my long

 positions?’ ‘Since I know that markets go down faster than they go

 up, should I take some short positions?’

These are the kinds of questions that jump into our heads… and

 that’s OK.

It’s what you do with these thoughts that matter!

You see, you should have a plan for all occasions in the market. If

you’re a day trader, your plan may have you favoring short trades

over long trades during a confirmed technical bearish phase.

This way you're going with the counter trend on an intraday basis

so that you stay with the flow of the market.

As a position trader, with long-term positions that you don't want

sell because of tax consequences, you would be looking to apply a

hedge position so that you can keep your long position, but defend

against the short term damage caused by a correction.

No matter how you trade or what time frame you trade, you need to

have a plan in place BEFORE the technical turn happens.

This way when those thoughts of fear and greed start running 

through your head, you can quickly dismiss them as you say to

yourself, “No worries! I have a plan for that.”

And when I say have a plan, I mean have a plan you can be 100% 

confident in. Once you're committed to… because if you're not 

totally committed, you'll hesitate when those fearful thoughts hit

and you'll lose valuable ground.

You see, most traders DON'T have plans for all market situations. 

They try to figure things out on the fly. .. while the action is raging.

Bad move! The fact that you have a plan at all means you're well 

ahead of the game.

No plan is 100% foolproof, so make build you plan on solid 

technical ground and then TRUST IT.

Investing is a project of risk. You won’t be right all the time.

But you’ll be right WAY MORE OFTEN if you have a plan. So, 

build plans for all major situations and then go ahead and follow 

when the situation occurs.

Wild market movements are unsettling for sure. So, make sure that

 you keep you inner strength high by training your subconscious

 mind on a daily basis.

We have a convenient way to do that with The Disciplined Trader 

Mastery Kit. So, if you don't own it, consider owning it.

But however you choose to maintain your mental and emotional 

fitness, do the mental trainings and don't let your tools sit on the

shelf.

This way, when the next crazy thing happens in the market, you’ll 

have the mental strength to follow your plan and you won't be part

of that 95% of traders who are unprepared and get whipped around

by their fear and greed.

OK.. that’s it for this addition of 4 Minute Drill for Traders.

Let’s hear from you. Maybe you have story where you rose from 

the ashes and when from fearful to confident that you can share.

Maybe you can just admit you don't have a plan and commit to the

world that you'll build one.

Sharing your thoughts helps all of us.. so don't be shy!

                                                                    - Norman Hallet