No Shame in Not Trading !

There is no shame in not trading when you should not be trading. This concept is one that you should cozy up to if your objective is to reach the next level of trading mastery and success. We have ups days and downs days , as far as level of energy and personal emotion goes. There are many traders who are convinced that they can trade regardless of how they feel. Those traders who have the discipline to take themselves out of the game when they are not up to par have fewer days they have to do so because they figure out ways to prevent occurrences.

The shame is in doing something that you are not prepared to do while putting yourself and your capital at risk. The best way to insure that you answer the question of whether or not you should trade today is to be disciplined. The routines of self-discipline that address your physical and emotional well being are your best defense against bad trading days. They are also the means to insure that you follow your trading disciplines , as well. If you find yourself answering the checklist in the negative column , chances are good that you have been breaking your disciplines. Your disciplines may not be able to protect you from some of the major shocks in life , but they can give you the strength to weather these shocks and return to your trading sooner.

Because successful , long-term trading requires you to be at your peak each day that you trade , there will be many days when you should not be trading. Unlike many professions in which you can coast through your bad days , a bad day in trading can mean the end of a career at worst and unexpected losses at best. Simply by asking yourself honestly each day whether or not you should be trading and keeping yourself out of the game if your answer is “No” can vastly improve your trading results.

There is time to go “long” , there is time to go “short” … and there is time to go fishing … ( famous quote )