Trading and the blame game

When you have a bad day in the markets, or your positions go against you, who or what do you blame?

• The markets?
• Other traders?
• Your broker?
• Your computer or software?
• Any other external factors?

The actual answer is the person who makes the decisions and/or presses the button to open or close your positions - YOU.

I came across this quote today which is extremely relevant to trading: "Ninety-nine percent of failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses".

It is very easily to shift blame onto other people or factors for a traders' poor performance. Are any of the above options responsible if:

• You decide to either enter a position that does not meet your entry criteria?
• You decide to enter a position too large in relation to your equity?
• You decide to exit a position when your exit criteria is not met?

Very occasionally, you may have to suffer an event that may cause difficulties, such as a stock gapping through your stop levels, which may mean you suffer a bigger than intended loss. However, proper risk management parameters should minimise the pain, and this again is determined by how much YOU have decided to risk on each trade.

Ultimately, until you take responsibility for your own actions in the market, and be able to accept whatever results you achieve, you will be destined to fail as a trader.