If you trade then you sometimes lose. There is not anybody who can make money in any transaction. Of course there is a few per cent of people who make money on financial markets. But even them sometimes lose. So I am sure that if you are an active trader then you made some losses in last month, or maybe in last week or maybe even today
You can deal with losses in 3 ways.
1. You hate losses.
You hate losses because you lose money, because they show that your predictions were wrong. You think (probably unconsciously) that losses are failures, and only life losers have failures, so when you take a loss it means that you are a loser. Because of that you punish yourself, call in your mind an idiot or stupid. Or maybe you defend against that and manage your anger against others: you say that markets are manipulated by big banks which stole your money.
This attitude is very popular among traders, especially these which don’t make money. It doesn’t support your trading because your judgment and decisions are not stable and rational. They depend on your current performance on the markets. If you win your decisions may be correct. If you lose you tend to feel fear or anger and risk more or less than you should.
2. You accept losses.
You treat losses like taxes. You do not like them because they take you your money but you understand that you must pay them to earn anything.
This attitude is popular among more aware traders and it is more supportive than hating losses. But it is not so good! You don’t like losses so you try to avoid them: you may not take risky but profitable trades or look for more pleasant way of making money and quit trading.
3. You enjoy your losses.
You are like Michael Jordan who said “I love this game”. He loves basketball and you loves trading. You would trade even if you were rich because you enjoy it so much. You want to win but you are not so focused on financial results of your trading. Mainly you focus on enjoying trading.
It doesn’t matter for you if you lose or win You know that losses are a part of your loved game so you enjoy them. You follow your profitable trading plan so after losses there will be profits.
This attitude is shared among the best (read Jack Schwager’s interviews) and the most profitable traders. You are motivated, you trade as often as you can, you do not need to take a break after long series of losses, you do not hesitate to take risky but profitable trades. You are an imaginative and happy trader who is always calm and rational.
Most of the traders with this attitude naturally love trading. But you can also learn it.
So which attitude would you like to have?