You can’t rush the trade. If there is no trade – then so be it.
No trade – “is” the trade.
I know it’s hard, especially when you are starting out. You want to get back out there, you want to see some action, you want another shot at making some money. But an important skill to learn (actually a very important skill to learn) is to be able to access the current environment, and evaluate whether a trade is even warranted at all.
Capital preservation needs to take priority over new opportunities for added profits – and when the markets are crazy – finding a trade (and I mean a good trade) – gets increasingly more difficult. You have to learn to include “not trading” in your trade plan. Embrace it, and consider yourself a better trader for it.
When you can’t find a decent trade (certainly consider that perhaps there isn’t one) and tell yourself “Gees! – Thank god I don’t have any of my hard-earned cash tied up in that mess! – I can’t find a decent trade if my life depended on it!”
As you get better at this – you start to trust yourself. The feeling of “not trading” starts to become a feeling of relaxation and confidence, rather than anxious or stressful.
There will always be a trade….just maybe not today.
For what it’s worth – it’s no picnic out there for me these past couple weeks either. I am still looking short USD with a couple of irons in the fire – but am patiently waiting for a move of some substance. The markets are proving difficult as I suggested 2013 would, and regardless of smaller / less profitable trades as of the past – I am thrilled to have very little exposure.