Here was a question I was posed from an Inner Circle member, [1/15/2011 3:03:58 PM]xxx: My quick question is: How can I overcome from the perfecting phase to the performing phase? (I hope you know what i mean/think of) Thanks in advance, Tom. Cheers xxx from Denmark.

I figure if this person is struggling with this then others must be also. This and similar questions like this were answered in my Money Management E-book, but I am happy to answer the best I can for all to read and learn from.

Okay, so if I am reading this trader right and I think I am his question(problem) is that he is looking for the Perfect Trade the one that has zero chance for losses! He cant get himself to pull the trigger, or if he does pull the trigger self doubt overcomes him and he gets out before the s/l. The next trade he takes he may let run beyond the S/L, because the first was a winner after it challenged the s/l but was never executed. (However he got out before he should have.)

Lets pull apart the issue of:

Perfectionism: Definition in the English language.

per?fec?tion?ism

-noun

1. any of various doctrines holding that religious, moral, social, or political perfection is attainable.

2. a personal standard, attitude, or philosophy that demands perfection and rejects anything less.

Then The Medical Definition:

Medical Dictionary

per?fec?tion?ism definition

: a disposition to regard anything short of perfection as unacceptable

especially: the setting of unrealistically demanding goals accompanied by a disposition to regard failure to achieve them as unacceptable and a sign of personal worthlessness

This Medical Definition is the most useful definition for us as traders.

Perfectionism in trading is a form of procrastination. Procrastination in trading occurs because of the fear of being wrong, it is Ego based. This persons values being right(showing that they are smart) more then they value making money in the Forex Market. This will cause most to trade haphazardly. Taking one trade that sets up and disregarding another, then moving s/l (either up or down.) It just creates confusion, which produces non adaptive behavior. That will put you in the negative loss loop. Confusion===>Errors===>Losses!! Rinse and Repeat Confusion===>Errors===> Losses.

Errors are not following your trading rules! Errors have nothing to do with losing Money we all do that, Trading without losses is like living only breathing in and never breathing out! Your main job as a trader is to Control The Losses. How Through Money Management.

Aldo always told me (and I think he pinched the line from someone)

*Professional Traders look for over all performance, Novice traders are always in search of Perfection*

When you are looking for perfection, you want to be right, you are not dealing with the market. You are trying to force the market to do what you want it do do. Huge mistake. There is a simple solution, make it okay not to be perfect. We are all far from it, some people more then others. Just ribbing you.)

Here are somethings that I learned all boiled down:

*You can never succeed at trading if all possible objections must be overcome first!*

AND

"*In trading with a plan, its better to be boldly decisive and risk being wrong than to agonize at length and be right too late...**

Lets look at the steps necessary to overcome this evil Ego Based issue.

Realize trading is a game of probabilities, it is not a pure science. It is a bit like medicine part science part instinct. Just like medicine if you follow the frame work you will succeed over all.Trust your Money Management Plan, know that it will save you from ruin.Make it okay to lose, its part of the game!Have a high probability trading system in place(I taught him many these so that was all worked out, but obviously he doesn't trust them, which is okay. He needs to come up with a mixture of mine and his own.)Test the systems using Entry And Exit formulas(again in my super ebook on Money Management. Hey a bit of self promotion doesn't hurt.)Realize no trader or trade will ever be perfect

Pull The Trigger And Follow Your Rules.

So these are the steps needed to move away from the stuck state of Perfectionism. JUST DO IT!

Enjoy The Party.... Dance Near The Door!

PS Since he strives for perfection he will probably say this was not the answer he was looking for, and I misunderstood!

Also Please feel free to come on over to the blog and comment, if you have any tips of how you over came inner obstacles with trading,or you if you have inner issues that you want to discuss. Don't be shy. We all enter the world naked!

View the original article here