In life, we frequently attempt to compartmentalize things to make sense of them. For instance, we separate what we like from what we dislike, what we’re good at from what we’re bad at, and what makes us joyful from what makes us sad.

Because of this of this division, it is simply natural that we gravitate towards people who make us feel good. We downplay failings as simply “this one time,” accidents, and even just plain bad luck. Sometimes, we just ignore them altogether.

And identical to in life, we see this occur often in trading.

Suppose you’re trade suddenly goes within the red due to some news event that you simply failed to think about. Out of frustration, you choose to widen your stop and let your trade ride.

Eventually, your trade goes back to breakeven and also you end the day flat. You deal with the “positive” result, and move on to the subsequent trade.

Whilst you didn’t lose a cent within the trade, you furthermore mght didn’t learn from it. The subsequent time the same event happens, you can find yourself doing the identical thing, but with a really different, possibly devastating, result.

Ask yourself, “Am I only considering positively because I don’t need to acknowledge my weaknesses?”

It might sound counterproductive, but you’ve got to embrace your weaknesses to grow. Selecting to look past your weaknesses is akin to sweeping clutter under the rug. Yes, it could look “neat” for now, but in time, the clutter will construct up and create an enormous mess.

Embracing shortcomings is something you, as a trader, must learn to do because there’s ALWAYS something to be learned in trading. The world of currency trading operates in a dynamic environment that shows no mercy to those that stand still.

You would possibly even say that you’ve got more to learn out of your weaknesses and losses than out of your strengths and wins. Chinks in your armor provide you with a concrete goal to work on improving. Ultimately, overcoming your personal Achilles heel is what is going to make you a more well-rounded trader.

So what are you able to do to “embrace weakness”?

As an alternative of treating your weaknesses negatively, take a look at it under a recent light in a process called positive reevaluation.

For illustrative purposes, let’s take a trader who has a habit of using stops which can be way too tight because he’s afraid of losing an excessive amount of.

As of late, he’s getting stopped out loads and finally ends up with a protracted losing streak. This makes him much more scared of putting trades on and losing extra money. He now finds himself stuck in a really vicious cycle that’s freezing him up.

You possibly can say that this trader’s attitude towards trading is negative, but through the technique of positive reevaluation, he can actually use this underlying weakness as strength.

Reasonably than specializing in the fear of losing, the trader can use this fear to positively reevaluate his trading and see it as a position-sizing problem. He can cut down on his position sizes so he can take even smaller risks while at the identical time widening his stops.

When you can twist a perceived negative thought, tendency, or trait right into a positive one, you possibly can get it to give you the results you want reasonably than against you.

Take a take a look at how Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors uses his small stature to his advantage. In a sport where being tall is a definite plus, Steph doesn’t let his relatively small 6’3″ frame hold him back.

Reasonably than seeing it as a drawback, he uses his speed and finely tuned skills to blow by defenders for the fast layup, or make space for the second he must shoot the three ball.

In fact, the identical positive approach can apply in trading.

Let’s say that as a trader, you’re easily overcome with emotion when your trade starts to go against you. Because of this, you are likely to widen your stop when your trade is losing.

A little bit of positive reevaluation can provide help to shift focus away from how this tendency holds you back and towards how it may well provide help to.

Since you recognize deep inside that these emotions sprout when market conditions turn into unfavorable in your trade, while you end up wanting to widen your stops, you possibly can actually use it as a possible signal to chop losses or trim your position.

Mainly, as a substitute of letting it take over you, you find yourself using your emotions as a signal to make higher trading decisions.

So that you see, taking a look at an issue from a unique angle can go a great distance in helping you improve your trading. It could give you recent insights on methods to approach an issue, and heck, it may well even provide help to turn your perceived weaknesses into strengths!