“Ninety-five percent of the trading errors you are likely to make—causing the money to just evaporate before your eyes—will stem from your attitudes about being wrong, losing money, missing out, and leaving money on the table. What I call the four primary trading fears.”
― Mark Douglas, Trading in the Zone: Master the Market with Confidence, Discipline, and a Winning Attitude
He described your true purpose as believing you are a “consistently successful trader”. He succinctly broke down the mental framework that hinders you and holds you back.
“If there is such a thing as a secret to the nature of trading, this is it: At the very core of one’s ability
1) to trade without fear or overconfidence,
2) perceive what the market is offering from its perspective,
3) stay completely focused in the “now moment opportunity flow,” and
4) spontaneously enter the “zone,” it is a strong virtually unshakeable belief in an uncertain outcome with an edge in your favor.”
Mr. Douglas then showed you how to build your mental strength and acuity toward that belief.
“I AM A CONSISTENT WINNER BECAUSE:
1. I objectively identify my edges.
2. I predefine the risk of every trade.
3. I completely accept the risk or I am willing to let go of the trade.
4. I act on my edges without reservation or hesitation.
5. I pay myself as the market makes money available to me.
6. I continually monitor my susceptibility for making errors.
7. I understand the absolute necessity of these principles of consistent success and, therefore, I never violate them.”
Once the trader is successful at being consistent, Douglas described your success as more than just financial but also with the freedom to increase it or have it at will.
“For those who have learned how to be consistent, or have broken through what I call the “threshold of consistency,” the money is not only within their grasp; they can virtually take it at will. I’m sure that some will find this statement shocking or difficult to believe, but it is true. There are some limitations, but for the most part, money flows into the accounts of these traders with such ease and effortlessness that it literally boggles most people’s minds.”