Don't trade if you have atychiphobia

Today I’ll talk about a concept most people don’t know:?atychiphobia.

Atychiphobia is commonly known as the fear of failure. It comes from the Greek word “atyches” that means"unfortunate.”

Some people live with atychiphobia and are absolutely certain they will fail, somehow, somewhere, sometime. Such sense of insecurity obviously interferes with their capacity to think and to act, and quite often leads them to a paralysis.

Others live with a healthy fear of failure, which can effectively be a positive trait when it leads to a higher focus, planning and preparation.?

Personally, I am the adventurous type, with a sense of danger that I admit to be softer than the average. You might think I'm bold, careless or perhaps immature, but the truth is that although I display loud signs of audacity, I also have moments of intense anxiety, when I allow panic to control my thoughts, feelings and actions.

Today, when I woke up the fear of failure was all over me.

September was my worst month in trading so far and, as I sat at my desk to run my daily market analysis, I began to doubt my scrutiny capacity. Although I can number several objective reasons for September's negative outcome, the main reason of all is very clear:

Never trade if you are not ok.

This seems a very simplistic way to recap but I can certainly detail the corollaries for this statement:

1.????Understand that making a stop (for a day, or two or for a week) is not quitting

When you are a trader and work on your own you have the privilege of deciding when you want to do business. You don’t need to convert trading in a daytime job (sometimes working overnight given time difference between markets) and you most certainly don’t need to work on a schedule. Sometimes it takes 5 minutes (or less) for a trade to return profit or for a trade to go ugly. So, if you are not in the mood, if you cannot focus, if you are multitasking, if you feel tired or are emotionally unstable, don’t trade.

2.????Don’t leave it to God and go to sleep

When you work under heightened volatility it’s very risky to leave a trade open for the next day. If you do so, remember to always define a stop loss level to assure you exit the deal with a cost you can afford. Remember that you are managing an investment portfolio and losses are absolutely normal as long as your global result is positive, i.e. as long as the sum of gains is higher than the sum of losses.

3.????Learn to sit on your hands and be quiet

When you run your daily routine to check the markets you might find yourself in a situation where you spot no attractive trading opportunity. This can happen because the assets you are looking at are in a choppy price-action making it impossible to identify a clear trend; or because important news or events are about to happen; or because your checklist tells you some kind of confirmation is required for you to hit the buy/sell button. Doing nothing can be frustrating. It is like if we were not made to stand still. But honestly, any professional trader will confirm that sometimes the "sit in your hands strategy" is the best investment decision you can make.

Fear is one of the most basic human emotions and is programmed into the nervous system in a way that it works like an instinct.

The best way to overcome a fear is to face it.

As long as you are not losing serious money keep on trading. Most probably fear will make you more attentive and disciplined. Today I've already earned money and made a profit in all positions I opened (only four) so if you ever feel insecure, please remember this wise words:

Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising every time we fail." ―?Confucius