What do you ask at the end of a Trading Session/Day/Week?

Typically traders ask these questions

*          How much money did I lose today?
*          How much of my trading account have I destroyed today?

or the affirmative questions,

*          How much money have I made today?
*          Home much has the account grown today?

Regardless of the questions above and the answers to them, this attitude is going to disappoint you. It is going to frustrate you and promote fear of trading. Its going to invite anxiety and confusion. Its going to put you in to the dreaded downward spiral.

So what should we ask? What is the Correct Question?

Many traders, particularly beginners, look at how many trades they won or lost during the day. End of the week they look at home much have they made or lost.

While it is also important to know how much money you make during a certain period the question to ask at the end of a day is not "How much money have I made".

The question we should be asking First and Foremost, is , in the words of Bill Williams,

"Was I in tune with the market?"

Bill Williams writes that we need not know worry too much about the balance of account at the end of a session or a trading week. Rather our primary focus should be on the "Flawless Execution of our Plan".

We need ask ourself these questions

1. Did I take all good quality setups?

if not, we need to find out the reasons. It could any combination of the following;

a. Procrastination
b. Absent Mindedness / Lack of Focus and Concentration
c. Fear of Putting a trade
d. Fear of losing
e. over analysis or paralysis of analysis.

2. Did I exit the trades that I took correctly?

if not, we need to find out the reasons, it could be any combination of the following:
a. Greed
b. Fear/ of in some cases desire of closing break-even
c. Fear of not hitting a perfect exit, right at the peak of that wave.
d. Hoping for price to come around

3. Evaluate trades taken as per rule and trades taken against rules separately.

If after the above analysis you find that you have been disciplined and taken all the trades according to the plan but still lost money that week or day,

pat yourself on the back, have a date with yourself, reward yourself and have some fun time.

Why?

Because you have shown "Successful Traders Traits".

You have exercised the art of  "Wanting What the Market Wants". 

You have used the "The Holy Grail of Trading" 

You have exercised being "In Tune with the Market". 

and when in tune with the market that is when
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in The Zone
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