Blowing your account in Forex and Indices

It happens. I don't know a single successful trader who hasn't blown at least one account. It's usually two or three accounts. And it's tough. Really tough.

I can still remember blowing my account. I had worked so hard and given countless hours to studying charts and building my knowledge. I knew what I was doing, I understood how to trade. And it happened nonetheless.

I was sitting at my desk. The only sounds I could hear were the whir of the fan on my computer and an even louder whooshing sound that enveloped my mind. I had been sucked in by the market - by something I have now come to know as 'Trading Tunnel Vision' (TTV).

What is TTV? It's when your emotions overpower you, your fear and your greed, your anger and your determination for revenge. Everything else seems to disappear and it's just the chart in front of you, going against your every move, as though some grandmaster chess player is on the other end of the chart, toying with you.

I had clicked Buy, I had clicked Sell, I had adjusted stops and I had chased trades. It happened so quickly. In a matter of hours. TTV had sucked me in and when it spat me out again I was a wreck (as was my trading account!)

The worst part of it all, is that when you sit back and realise what has just happened, you cant believe your own stupidity. You KNOW what you were doing was wrong. You UNDERSTAND that the way you just traded is a recipe for disaster. And yet you did it all the same. TTV got you. You feel worthless and totally dejected.

This is the truth of blowing your account. It is a viscous experience and, sadly, it is also a necessary one.

What next? Well, for most, that's it. They walk away from trading, or they are forced away from it because they have literally lost everything.

For me? Yes I felt like quitting - I was devastated. I felt useless, like a failure. But did I quit? No. I went away and I licked my wounds and then I came back. I spent hours a day honing my knowledge and my skill. Every time I fell, I got back up again. I was forced to trade very small lots, because my account was threadbare. I worked on myself, as well as my methods. I developed a way to overcome TTV - yes, I'll show you how I did it in my psychology video series - and I forced myself to keep moving. Because you can do it. Yes, YOU. 95% do not succeed. But what about the 5% who do? Are they superhuman? Better than you? Smarter than you? Of course not. So, what do they have?

Persistence.

 Anyone who is great at anything is that way because they persevered when everyone else quit.

Keep chipping away at your trade. Continue to learn. Do not allow yourself  to give up. Do you remember that guy who started at the same time as Buffett and quit when he blew his account? No? Neither does anyone else.

Have a great trading week!