Wednesday, October 08, 2008
10/8/08 10 tasks
I'm going to write several entries about the 10 task of trading. These are Van Tharps 10 things that every good trader must do in order to obtain peak performance. I am going to paraphrase some things so let's get started!
1. Daily Self-Analysis. You are the most important part of being a successful trader and therefore you had better be at your best while trading. It's a mental game as you know, or should know by now. I believe that we create everything around us, good and bad, so why not create good. How you may ask? By having proper mindset. After my 20 min mind awakening workout, simply spend a few moments and evaluate how you feel. If great then go to the next task. If not great then time to do my Universal parts analysis and fix things before you turn the computer on. This will involve doing some Alpha or Delta wave mind stuff to figure out what isn't right and then correct it.
2. Daily Mental Rehearsal. Sit for a few more moments and mentally rehearse the entries and most importantly the exits. Spend an extra moment on the losses, and my proper reaction to those losses, which is to push the mouse away and take a break. I visualize that over and over so that when it happens I have pre-programmed my brain to push the mouse away instead of doing something stupid. This is also a good place to ask myself 3 questions:
Why am I a great trader
Why am I going to follow my rules today
Why am I blessed to have this life and people that love me
3. Develop a low risk idea. This is where I fade the support and resistance of the 770 chart using a 3 point stop and 2,5,10 tgts.
4 Stalking. This is where I practice patience and have to wait for the setups rather than jumping into bad positions at bad prices. Using visualization I hope to give myself more advantages by waiting for better entry.
5. Action. There should be no second guessing when the entries do come. Just follow the visualized patterns and methodically follow rules.
6. Monitoring. My tendency is to sometime push the stops too close too early rather than let the trade breath and run for my advantage. Be patient.
7. Abort. If it is time to bail then bail. Nuff said!
8. Take Profits. Simple... just follow the rules of support and resistance.
9. Daily Debriefing. This is where I have fallen short in the past. After I'm done I need to evaluate my performance after the day is done. I can use my daily journal or this blog for that purpose.
10. Periodic Review. Every weekend I need assess my weekly performance.
1. Daily Self-Analysis. You are the most important part of being a successful trader and therefore you had better be at your best while trading. It's a mental game as you know, or should know by now. I believe that we create everything around us, good and bad, so why not create good. How you may ask? By having proper mindset. After my 20 min mind awakening workout, simply spend a few moments and evaluate how you feel. If great then go to the next task. If not great then time to do my Universal parts analysis and fix things before you turn the computer on. This will involve doing some Alpha or Delta wave mind stuff to figure out what isn't right and then correct it.
2. Daily Mental Rehearsal. Sit for a few more moments and mentally rehearse the entries and most importantly the exits. Spend an extra moment on the losses, and my proper reaction to those losses, which is to push the mouse away and take a break. I visualize that over and over so that when it happens I have pre-programmed my brain to push the mouse away instead of doing something stupid. This is also a good place to ask myself 3 questions:
Why am I a great trader
Why am I going to follow my rules today
Why am I blessed to have this life and people that love me
3. Develop a low risk idea. This is where I fade the support and resistance of the 770 chart using a 3 point stop and 2,5,10 tgts.
4 Stalking. This is where I practice patience and have to wait for the setups rather than jumping into bad positions at bad prices. Using visualization I hope to give myself more advantages by waiting for better entry.
5. Action. There should be no second guessing when the entries do come. Just follow the visualized patterns and methodically follow rules.
6. Monitoring. My tendency is to sometime push the stops too close too early rather than let the trade breath and run for my advantage. Be patient.
7. Abort. If it is time to bail then bail. Nuff said!
8. Take Profits. Simple... just follow the rules of support and resistance.
9. Daily Debriefing. This is where I have fallen short in the past. After I'm done I need to evaluate my performance after the day is done. I can use my daily journal or this blog for that purpose.
10. Periodic Review. Every weekend I need assess my weekly performance.
