Traders can talk themselves into disastrous losing scenarios. Here are the steps to avoid the problem."Self-talk controls your trading destiny. Self-talk is that inner voice that interprets what is happening and how you feel about it. Your self-talk can be positive, optimistic and encouraging so that it gives you the energy and confidence to stay the course in the face of the most overwhelming odds. Unfortunately, however, most of the traders with whom I have worked, regardless of their level of success, engage in negative self-talk, which results in their failing to achieve their ultimate potential."
"I can't pull myself out of this mess," Larry said to me over the phone. Once an exceptional futures trader, Larry was desperate. "The harder I try, the deeper I get. All I think about are my horrible losses, which creates more losses. And all I do is worry." After talking with Larry for a while, it was clear that he was not exaggerating the seriousness of his situation. His self-talk was rapidly leading him to a deeper and deeper state of depression.
"Traders who cannot pull the trigger or exit too soon have their own special monologue that effectively sabotages their trading results. Their self-talk is all about their fears, their losses and their uncertainties."
Adrienne Laris Toghraie is founder and head of both Trading on Target and Enriching Life Seminars.Negative self-talk has limited the success of countless traders. The ease with which a trader can slip into the pattern of negative self-talk makes it difficult to see how destructive it can be.
