Finding Certainty Amongst the Uncertainty.
Constantly checking on trades is a problem for many traders. These days, I make a decision, decide when to visit the charts next and walk away. It took me an awfully long time to get to that point.
Why is it a blight to keep checking on a trade once it's been placed? It proves you have an attachment to the trade. Your brain wants your decision to be correct and it can't handle the uncertainty of an ongoing trade.
The gremlin inside of you tells you that you need to check. If the chart is going in your direction, you feel vindicated and pat yourself on the back, if the chart is going against you, you feel a pang of pain. You repeat the process multiple times, sometimes you might panic and take profit early, sometimes you might panic and take a small loss.
All the while, you made an original decision that you believed in at the time, and checking on that decision whilst the trade is ongoing is at best, absolutely useless, at worst, it's very damaging. And it all boils down to the need to be correct and the uncertainty of not knowing.
Take away the gremlins power:
Taking away the 'uncertainty gremlin's power' can be done through a mindful process, but it's remarkably difficult to do (especially when a mobile phone is right there, screaming at you to pick It up).
The next time you feel the urge to check on a trade, stop yourself, take a breath and ask yourself: For what purpose am I about to look at this chart? Will it make me a better trader? Or am I just automatically trying to scratch the uncertainty itch?.
Taking a moment to confirm why you are about to look at the chart will make you realise that you don't need to look right now. That's not to say the urge will automatically go away, it's a process you'll have to repeat multiple times a day, if not multiple times an hour. It's the same with any habit you are trying to break, there is a certain uncomfortableness that you must break through. But over time, the urges to check on a trade will become further apart. Eventually, you'll realise that the only certainty you can have is the certainty that you made a good decision in the first place. You can find an inner peace with that certainty, and let the mathematics of a higher risk reward ratio and a 50% win rate do the work.
