getting emotions (fear of missing opportunity, fear of selling at a loss) under control was a problem for me for years.

it changed with two things:

-a quote of "market wizard" Tom Basso to handle every trade as a single one among thousands to come. that helped to get a professional mindset of a trader, dealer.

-digging out of a steep drawdown not by injecting additional capital but slowly, steadily trading myself back up again. the confidence you gain in such a lengthy process is priceless.

Something that helps me keep fear/emotions in check while trading is to have an exit plan before I initiate the trade as well as knowing how much downside I'm willing to risk before I put the trade on. It prevents me from panicking during the trade if it doesn't work out immediately. It also allows me to be patient and let the trade develop and ignore the market's frequent fluctuations. The challenge of picking a good time to initiate the trade still exists, but at least I know how/when to exit when I'm wrong and how much capital I'm wiling to risk.

I have to admit that it took me years (I will not say how many) to
begin think about being successful, and I know that success is
not a given, it’s everyday hard work and learning process that
will never end.

First I start to read a lot, attend on-line and off-line seminars, trade
shows and listen to people who are with markets on every day basis
(not necessary traders, but analysts, economists, and everybody else
who has something to say – journalists etc.). This helped me a lot,
because I begin to see and understand that, market is a “battle ground”
for all participants who are serving their opinions and actions at any
given time. They are presenting their emotions and opinions and
expressing themselves by buying and selling. I understand that,
It’s up to me to pull the trigger on my trades, and I have to be convinced
that this is “right time and place”. This conviction comes with experience.

Having plan of action became essential tool. Playing with charts is my
second nature. I do plan a lot, very often all this planning is just training.
I will always have a plan before I will take action with real money.
Maybe I don’t follow one particular trading strategy, but I know what
I want when I execute my trades. I do trade only Forex, but I do play
with different markets and investment instruments. I do have multiple
accounts. Some of them are demo accounts; some of them are real money
accounts. When I trade real money, I will always have demo account
mirroring my real money account. Demo account will serve me as a
“let’s do something crazy” tool, when “real money” account is for
more conservative play. Over time this build my confidence, teach me
position sizing, risk and money management. Yes I did blow few accounts
and I know how does it looks and feels, how disappointing it is.
But I hope that I will not disappoint myself again.

I think that fact, that I spend some time gambling in casinos, and maybe
even more time playing checkers and chess, teach me how to strategize
my moves (whatever they are) and how important self confidence is.

It’s very important to have something – friends, family, hobby etc., that
will offer some distance and perspective from everyday hassle with
markets. In other words mental health and fitness is a key.

First, I had to realize that I wasn't going to become rich overnight in trading. So I had to lower my expectations to a more realistic level. That lesson cost me a lot.

Then, I learned to reduce my position size to a level that, if the trade turned out to be a loser, I was OK with and I wouldn't let it ruin my day. Every trade is a check I write to the market. Sometimes it comes back, sometime bigger, but sometimes I never see the money again. I had to write checks small enough to be comfortable never seeing again.

I also had to find a trading system and plan that I was comfortable with and that, during periods of draw-down, I had considerable confidence that the odds were in my favor and I just needed to be patient and stick to my plan to turn the corner.

When I originally started trading, I made the mistake of trading without enough knowledge. I'd see stocks move and I'd want to get in on the action, but I couldn't figure out what was causing the breakouts. This caused me to fear small reversals because if I didn't know what was causing the movement, how could I tell when I should get out? This fear caused me to sell way too early on a lot of my trades. As I expanded my technical analysis knowledge, I started to better understand the breakouts and when I should get out. I guess the point of the story is knowledge can conquer fear.

Sorry I got late to the party!

My most common emotional difficulties arise when I start beating myself up and berating myself for missing a trade, botching execution, things like that. I go to my trade journal and slowly make a list of the things I've done well even if it seems minor or mechanical, a list of the things that I attacking myself which are irrational (eg: not selling at the very top or other feats of precognition), and a couple practical, mechanical aspects which I can improve.

I think it helps because it's a routine and so lets me drop back into a 'calming' mindset, it focuses on execution and not results which reminds me that losses can and will happen even to the best traders, and it lets me work on developing as a trader without feeling bad as a person. The last used to lead me to self-destructive things like pulling stops and taking bigger size to get back to breakeven and when it moved against me (it almost always would) then I'd do nothing because I was a bad, worthless person who broke his rules and deserved to lose a lot of money. Now I still fewer mistakes and when I do, I can calm down faster and remain more positive.

My mother has been in a nursing home for the last two years and I have been trying to supplement her income by trading in her account (and yes, I do have Power of Attorney). I am strictly a day trader by nature, because I don't have the mental make-up to hold overnight. Trading her account has forced me to become a swing trader, and thus I became more focused and disciplined in never violating money management rules, using appropriate position sizing, placing and using stops on all trades, and strictly trading specific chart patterns that offer the greatest probability for success. After all, I don't want to be the son that had to tell his mother that he lost it all. I win some and I lose some, but like a casino it is all about risk management and playing the percentages. So far, I have never had a losing month and she is able to afford a better quality of life. And these learned traits and also helped my day trading. Go figure.

1. Start with an account of $50,000 or more that you can afford to lose. If you cannot afford to lose that much then stay out.
2. Never trade when the market is open. Only place your orders when the market is closed. Do all of your analysis after the close and before the next open. Don't watch the market trade at all.
3. Design a system of your own using some combination of averages. For me a spread sheet works best. I study the history in my spread sheets and have separate signals for entry, exit, flat and negating signals that tell me not to enter the trade. Make your own so only you is to blame for any failures
4. Forget the charts. They can't tell you where the market is going. Only where it has been.
5. Again, start with a lot of money and be happy if you beat the CD rates. Don't trade if you don't know what you are doing. There really are people who know what is most likely to happen next.

Discipline. That's the magic word. If you are a beginner you need it and you need to acquire it as soon as possible. If you're an experienced trader you probably have it. There are many sites and traders that offer the essential "10 commandments" of trading. Most of them are basically the same. If a trader is disciplined to follow them s/he will be fine.
Everybody makes mistakes / bad trades. I am no exception. But I (try to) stick to my plan and system. It's when I deviate when my losses come. One of my favorite trader mantras is "Tomorrow is another trading day". Your last trade is water under the bridge. So discipline is the hardest when you make mistakes/bad trades. When that happens, sometimes the best thing is to turn off the real time quotes or turn off the computer and take a break. The break can be for minutes, days or weeks even. Get back to the computer when your head is clear again.

I trade the top40 index futures in South Africa,very much like the sp500.I found that chasing a move mostly led to a loss.I now wait for a setup and usually the best spot to enter is also the most uncomfortable for me.Its like going against my instinct.To wait for confirmation before entering, results in a lot of fear,anxiety and sweat.

If I have had a recent big loss or string of losses, I am afraid to trade again and incur more losses.
To get my feet wet, I will either trade much smaller size or I will patiently wait for a trade set-up that offers me a very tight stop -- less than 0.15 cents -- and has a high probability of working in my favor.

I am also afraid not to trade -- afraid of missing a move. I'm still working on my discipline not to jump in too early because I'm afraid of missing a move. I try to remember "infinite patience" and breathe deeply and slowly. This is a battle between fear and discipline and I may never 100% conquer it but I'll never give up working on getting better.

Fear of FAILURE!... It was only after I recognized my fear of failure that I was able to view the markets objectively. It was the Fear of Failure that was the root cause of all other fears associated with trading.
Fear of missing a move which makes you a failure.
Fear of getting in too early which makes you a failure
Fear of getting in too late which makes you a failure
Fear of getting stopped out which makes you a failure
Fear of getting out too early which makes you a failure
Fear of not getting out quick enough which makes you a failure
The way I overcame fear in trading is by recognizing that it stemmed from fear of failure. The actual process of overcoming the fear of failure is to accept failure as a possibility and assume the trade you planned was a failure before you put it on so if it in fact reaches your price objective first it was a success, and if your planned stop gets hit you won't be surprised since it was deemed a failure anyway.

Always put a real stop, NOT a mental stop with my order, once my hard stop is in, I am not afraid of it anymore.

On friday September 17th 2010 I shorted SHPGY on 69.61 and my objective was to get out ar 69.11. The stock moved towards my goal but it bounced at 69.12 two times, shrinking a winning position to almost a breakeven trade. It was very stressful to hold a position that was 1 cent away from my goal, and even though I was very afraid of leaving a lot of money on the table I was able to wait. The minute I got out with my objective the stock tanked 50 cents more. The lesson: "plan your trade, trade your plan"

Emotional detachment, from BOTH greed and fear is paramount, but easier said than done.

Position size allows one to "sleep at night" and is a blend of having enough to matter but not enough to take you out. Two overlapping spheres. Having too small of a positio is just the craving for "action" I use 1% of capital with 2.5 ATR's to arrive at inital size. 2.5 reflecting a half week.

I wait for my "mark". I don't waste capital on sub-optimal trades. I won't divulge specific triggers other than to say I filter with a 9 period ADX for trend and Bollinger band........WIDTH for range expansion.

IF filled, I want to be green in three hours and certainly by the end of the day. IF not, I generally scratch with emotional detachment. No brand loyalty to any stock.

Those held are monitored with Maximum Adverse Excrusion (MAE). If the price move (ideally) gets to Maximum Favorable Excrusion (MFE) where the intra-day low is above my basis, then I'm looking to add to my position. Initial entry represents 3 units and the first addition being 2 untis.

ALL issues purchased are with the intent of eventually selling. Period. Exit is dictated by a Chandlier stop (HHV - 2.5 ATR ) and ride the move for all it's worth. An exception would be pre-empting it IF the ADX is above 40 which is unsustainable.

Sharp fast intra-day moves, which generally provokes fear is the specialist/market maker maneuvering with minimal public participation OR.......taking out stops to acquire inventory. At those unexpected junctures, one trys to determine "his" inventory posture and motives.

I think anyone who wants to be a professional trader must not be afraid to trade, take positions or risk. This sounds very simple and self-evident, but when trading in real time fear can become an underestimated problem(missing out opportunity, lossing streaks etc.). Therefore it is important to keep your positon seize relativly small to your account and have a daily stop loss limit. however one must also be able to commit more capital on the very best setups(A-trades)...

I try to overcome my fear by respecting any and all resistance levels. I always place my stops at the closest level to my initial position no matter the "strength" of the level

2010 is by far the hardest year to trade in the market IMO. My advice is to sit patiently and wait till a trade comes your way. Do not over trade or you will just churn and get nowhere.

It's easier for me to control emotions if I adjust position size to volatility. The more volatile the stocks are, the smaller the position size would be. This allows you to still make money but with less risk, so it's easier to keep emotions in check. After a day of trading I like to get outside or in the gym for some exercise to clear my mind and refresh the spirit with a healthy endorphin kick. Listening to music while trading can help and I also will sometimes seek some form of spiritual connections to keep my head clear as well.

My best trade so far this year was found on Corey's sight when he showed the chart of GS. I shorted it below 147, but thought it found support at 138, and it did. But as Corey points out, the low of 135 or 130 was an "idealized trade." Tips for controlling fear is to reduce position size when you are a new trader and study, study, study.

i was afraid of missing out on market moves, jumping in too soon at times. getting there now :-)

I overcome fear in two ways, first I dont allow myself to exceed more than 1% or 2% of used margin. The second thing I do is trade only those patterns on the chart I have come to recognize.
A third thing I do is look for reasons not to trade, but that prevents me from getting into a fearful situation in the first place so am not sure if it applies to your question.

I forgot to have this post to twitter...

The day I finally believed in myself was the day i started to profit consistently.

I know in the past I have always been afraid of missing the initial move in a stock, whether it be off of news or technicals. Having this fear led to me chasing a lot and having unfavorable risk/reward. After reviewing my stats i found that when I had some patience, and didn't chase, and waited for a clearer entry (such as a consolidation or flag pattern) that i could measure my risk/reward much better and make much better trades. I know its easier said than done, but I know now that if i miss an initial drive I sit on my hands and just watch. I've lost too much money chasing and I suppose that's how you learn the hard way.

I do not know why, but I have no fear (should have more!) in starting short positions, while I strugggle in entering long positions. As soon as I enter a long trade and even if it is moving in my favour , I am taken over by a feeling (fear?) that it will collapse. I correct this by forcing myself to make at least one long trade for every short trade I take.

Ways to keep fear in check

1. demo trade as long as it takes until you know what you're doing.
2. use small position size until you've built up your risk tolerance
3. do your homework every day and never fall behind on it
4. don't attach too much importance to any one trade
5. find a method that works for you so you're not relying on others to tell you what to do

Trading a high momentum stock with no news at open during the first 20 minutes after open can be a roller coaster ride. Most of the times the first move is a fake one. I let that move consolidate and trade the breakout either above or below the trading range, it takes out fear / anxiety out of the trade. It is always safer to know the market direction below entering a trade than trying to go against the currents.

I was afraid I was going to be stuck in a losing position while I was in the office (I'm not a full time trader currently) and wouldn't be able to get out through my remote phone connection. Eventually I started finding longer term setups and holding the trades longer and reducing my size. When I see what's happening in the market, I think sometimes that I may be leaving some money on the table, but while I have other work responsibilities I'd rather miss a couple good opportunities rather than be anxious about an existing position which I cannot properly monitor.

The recent market has proven to be humbling for most traders I know. Not from a loss perspective but from a "why is this happening" perspective. Smart traders will sit out the sessions where their game is off. Benching yourself is not natural for most but learning to have other things to do besides trade has given me an outlet to maintain a clear mind and a restored feeling of controlling the environment. I have something productive to do and can return to trade the next hour or day. This coupled with getting out of trades quickly that are going sideways keeps the anxiety down and the fear in check as I am not accepting being in trouble. I may not be able to control the trade but I can control the environment I trade in.

I'm an active swing trader in stocks and intraday trader in futures. I have been trading for more than 10years and I have found that the two most effective things to reduce fear or anxiety in a trade is to use a small position size relative to my account and I also prefer to use OCO bracket orders. Every trade I enter has a pre-determined size based on the volatility of the timeframe I'm trading, and every trade has a pre-defined profit target and stop-loss. Both orders are instantly submitted to the exchange or my broker's servers the second I get filled on any order. I sleep well at night, and I make money.

I have followed Corey for a year now and have learned a lot! I use Fib retracements, Keltner channels, moving averages, 3/10/16 MACD, on 4min, 60 min, daily, and weekly charts. Then watch many different futures contracts to find overbought and oversold situations. The daily and weekly set up the trades for the 4 and 60 min trades. Just like Corey says the confluence of many different indicators show when to enter and exit the trade. Once you perfect your trading setup and back test the odds of success you will then start to profit and become successful. Thank you Corey, for helping me get this, consolidation, expansion, trend, and backing and filling.

I've learned that I cannot repress or pretend my emotions do not exist. When I make money I'm happy/excited and when I lose money I get saddened/disappointed, or whatever. It's just the way I am and that, I cannot control. What I can control are the big swings in emotions. I do that by Risk Management. I know my risk tolerance and manage that by position sizing and stop losses. I know Biotechs are extremely volatile and can drop 20% in a heart beat. So I reduce my position size knowing how quickly things can go against me. I try not to trade around earnings due to the whipsaws that can happen.
Once those measures are in place and I plan my trade there is very little fear to overcome when entering a trade.
When (not if, cause it's gonna happen) the unforeseen happens, like a huge gap down over night, I simply close out my trade and go for a run or lift weights to get my mind off of the trade. Once my mind has cleared I return and it's much easier to avoid revenge trading or making irrational decisions

If you have traded and haven't experienced fear or anxiety before in a trade once the trade has been entered than you haven't succesfully psychologically tested yourself yet. Similar to sports in many ways you can read a million books on playing golf or tennis but there is no experience that can prepare you for the real thing as sitting in front of the screen and dueling it out with youself mentally watching every tick go by in awe of whether or not you should take profits/losses and whether or not your about to regret which ever decision you take.

For me it was mentally preparing myself over time as trading is not an overnight get rich quick scheme (in fact far from it). I am always growing and preparing myself mentally because I know the prize at the end of the road. Trading is one of the only careers where it will reward me financially for growing and improving my skills.

How I overcame fear:
You almost have to take the times when my palms were getting sweaty and had to mentally handcuff my hands to the chair to let my trades play out with my OCO's in place which accurately measured my risk tolerance to the downside as well as measuring my profit target. So when I found a trading style that fit my personality (which is a must for all traders) having the confidence in my system is what drastically reduced my hesitation and anxiety problems.

I realized that I was missing trades because I was fearful and hesitant to jump in and execute. After seeing the money I could have had if I had just taken the trade, I began to set reasonable stops and just jump in. You can't make money if you don't try. More often, my trades are successful than those times when I stop out. I try to tell myself not to listen to my emotions because I am trading against non-emotional computers. If the setups look good -- just jump in.

The only thing that has really helped reduce fear and anxiety is to trade with rules: 1. Always listen to what the market is saying, never what I thought/think would happen. 2. Only hold positions were the momentum of the stock is consistent with my trade, i.e. long if it is above vwap, and the short term moving averages such as 5 day MA, short if the opposite is true. And perhaps most important, 3. always manage risk, set stop just where support (longs) resistence (shorts) is broken and there is a clear indication of reversal.

I overcome fear/hesitation/anxiety in a specific (or major) trade… or share tactics you use each day to keep the fear and emotions in check while trading.

The first 10 - 20 minutes is a very dangerous for a day trader to act unless he is very quick and disciplined especially on stocks that move without any stock specific news. I wait for the stock to make the initial fake move, consolidate and trade when it breaks out of the range. It helps me to keep fear and emotions in check while trading. Above all staying with the trend makes life a lot easier than trying to swim against the currents

One issue that I've worked to overcome in my trading (still working on it!) is the desire to take profits quickly on a winning trade during a day where I am in the negative. I do this through practice dedicated to just this one skill. I have a collection of days saved with Ninja Trader's simulation module that I use for this practice. Here are the rules:
1) I trade 2 contracts on the e-Mini.
2) I run the day at 5x speed.
3) I must always try to be in a trade.
4) As soon as the day starts, I enter a trade with minimal evaluation. This is not about being right or wrong on movement, so direction doesn't matter for this practice.
5) If the trade goes against me, I cut my losses. Based on rule #3, I must re-enter a new trade within two 5 minute bars.
6) If the trade becomes profitable, I work to manage my emotions and hold it until the right signal. I do have an automated exit strategy that sells 1/3 of my contracts at 2pts (on the e-Mini), . I don't override this during practice, since this is about simulating the action accurately for a winning trade.
7. Repeat.

I've tried other methods to isolate this particular skill, but I find this works well for me.

My emotions have been under control for a long time now. I mean I have heard stories of traders throwing up even if position had gone in favor after waiting on it. I cant do that. For me trading is fun while researching while initiating a position n while closing a position. No throwing up trades. After doing all the TA on the mkts n stocks I start by a pilot position(1/4th position of total I plan to allocate) and watch it act. Its like this - I need to get a feel for stock before going all in and that happens by initiating small position on it. I watch Monthly/weekly/daily to get a feel from longer term POV and I initiate my positions based on hourly chart overlaid with 50MA n 20MA. If initial confirms my judgment I add otherwise I get stopped for the small loss. I am not a daytrader bcos that is looking out for breadcrumbs whereas I am looking at the skies.

The only way I personally can overcome emotions is through automation. My Automated Trading System submits the order, target & stoploss. I watch the behaviour of the ATS as a Prop Trading manager watches the behaviours of his staff.

I have found thats the way I trade too, once I see the set up and it qualifies..I have no choice but to take that trade. It is emotionless and not filled with fear either because I know the trading model is requiring I act based on the parameters I am observing unfolding on the chart and nothing else.