Just wanted to post this incase it helps anyone. Trading is f***ing hard. I’ve spent the last 5 years or so (on and off) attempting to be consistently profitable at day trading. The sad thing is, there are multiple strategies that I’ve learned and proven that I COULD be profitable with them, if (and only if) I followed my system and didn’t gamble. I’ve spent THOUSANDS of hours in front of the screen & could not get past my own hurdles.
Throughout this journey, I’ve learned that I’ve become severely addicted to trading. It’s on my mind 24/7. I cannot accept defeat, or even accept green days, because I always want to trade more even if I’m up a few thousand on the day. I will go through periods of a 5, 6, 7 day green streak only to give everything back + more from one big red day.
I’ve truly given this my all. But I’ve learned to accept that for some, this will just not be very feasible if you have gambling tendencies and are unable to disconnect the emotions, thrill & rush from your trading. I’ve tried different strategies, different timeframes, etc. But at the end of the day I can’t remove the dopamine effect that trading gives, and it leads to me seeking that out & making irrational decisions.
I withdrew what was left in my account, and will be looking into resources for recovering mentally with the gambling tendencies.
I just wanted to post this incase anyone else can resonate, and that it’s OKAY to not make this venture work out. Some people are just wired for success in this career; others not so much.
Thankfully I’ve got a well paying software engineering career, so these losses are not the end of the world. However it still stings & mostly my ego & confidence has been hit badly from failing miserably at this.