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Paula Rodriguez

In a volatile and exciting forex market, it is essential to establish reliable ways to let go of regrets when trading. With monetary risks involved, traders are susceptible to different emotions. Though it is part of the process, these emotions are only damaging when they become uncontrollable.Feelings of regret can sink in at an instant or increasingly over a period of time. It can immediately affect a trader’s mindset during an unexpected loss or gradually over a span of trading sessions. Because of this, traders must get ready with an action plan and learn how to effectively manage feelings of regret. To optimize focus, productivity and mental wellbeing, set up an effective strategy to overcome regrets when trading.

The risky effects of regret

To become an expert trader, you will need to go through both challenges and triumphs. During this path to success, you must know how to react to varied situations and master your mental state. One of the most common emotions when trading is the feeling of regret. Whether you have closed a trade too soon or perhaps picked an unreliable trading tool,traders experience situations that can trigger regret. The best way to approach recurring feelings of regret is to learn from your mistakes and make necessary changes for the next trade.In the long run, built-up emotions like disappointment or unhappiness can affect trading performance and emotional wellbeing. If you do not learn how to manage feelings of regret, it may result in:
  • Constant nervousness
  • Inability to fully focus
  • Resistance to change
  • Chronic anxiety or tension
  • Decreasing textment as a trader
  • Effects on physical health like fatigue or headaches
  • Unproductive feelings of self-reproach
During any difficulty, remember that negative emotions are normal especially as a forex trader. When facing regret, you must accept what you are feeling and then move forward towards self-improvement.

Simple and effective ways to take control of regrets when trading

Repetitive emotions of regret can eventually affect overall mental state. In a highly active forex market, forex traders are exposed to both wins and losses. This can allow traders to go through positive and negative points of view. To achieve success when trading, it is crucial to learn how to manage the way you think and how you react towards any type of scenario.According to Nick Hobson Ph.D on Psychology Today, the feeling of regret is composed of actions and inactions. This involves regretting choices or behaviours towards a certain event and decisions that could have been made. In the long run, dwelling on past events can prevent your personal growth as a trader.To ensure a strong and effective mindset, practice these stress-free ways to manage regrets when trading:

Build a healthy outlook towards negative emotions

Reasons for experiencing regret can stem from poor decision making, missed opportunities or incorrect action. When building financial growth as a trader, being confident and positive about skill and strategy can greatly affect mental wellbeing. If you find yourself making a mistake or two, it is imperative to optimistically manage your emotions and stay productive. This means creating a healthy attitude towards unpleasant emotions as well as a proactive response when dealing with a regretful trading scenario.With a positive and progress-driven way of thinking, you can become more resilient especially when correcting your strategy. This prevents any negative outlook towards yourself and your emotions.

Get some help

Sudden regret is a normal reaction especially during an unexpected setback. Studies show that distextment commonly comes from feeling incapable. When traders have an underlying feeling of helplessness, this can quickly turn into chronic regret.If regret becomes repetitive and unproductive, it may hinder traders from fixing or improving the strategy. Because of this, traders must be open to reaching out and getting help. This could be emotional support, further assistance from your broker, or help from other experts in the trading industry. Be sure to prepare reliable sources of information from good forex education, qualified mentors or experienced traders.

Back your decision making

Most feelings of regret come from the sudden decision making that led to an undesirable result. Oftentimes, regrets can come from a choice that was made impulsively or an action that was applied without analysis. To free yourself from regret, your decisions should be based on calculations and actual data.Whether your decisions led to losing trade or a profitable result, you must make decisions from a place of knowledge and correct computation. To enhance your decision making and overcome regrets, get to know the Best Ways to Boost Decision Making Skills as a trader.

Turn failure and regret into action with a trading journal

A forex trading journal is one of the best tools to use when studying past trades and boosting current trading systems. To prevent feelings of regret, a helpful trading journal allows you to contemplate on both winning and losing trades. This excellent habit will encourage a more analytical and organized thought process. Eventually, a trading journal will inspire a growth-oriented state of mind and decrease overwhelming regret.Become a successful and effective forex trader. To manage regrets and make the most out of a trading journal, first see The Logic Behind Reevaluating Trading Failure.

Explore and envision different scenarios

When feeling a sense of regret, one of the best ways to stay productive it to constructively think about alternate scenarios. With a systematic state of mind, look back on the past trade, determine a possible alternate outcome and what you can do to become better.To steer clear of regrets when trading, examine the situation you are dwelling on and optimize from there. In a shifting forex market, there are many scenarios that can cause regret. You may foresee a trend that did not materialize as you expected. Oftentimes, traders also feel regret after letting go of a trade too soon. Whatever the trading scenario may be, it is important to always see regret as an opportunity to strengthen your trading system.With further analysis and investigation, take the time to explore alternate results and opposite actions that you could use in upcoming trades.

Make room for mistakes

Making mistakes is a normal part of learning about the forex market. To achieve a level of expertise as a trader, you will need totake away lessons from these mistakes and improve your trading system. Most of the time, traders immediately equate trading losses with failure or inadequacy. On the contrary, making room for mistakes is a highly effective way to truly learn how to trade. Any challenges or errors can lead you to a useful lesson for future trades.When you realize that past mistakes can give you valuable information, you willsee the importance of failure and minimize long-term feelings of regret. As you go through trial and error, make sure to master your skill and strategy on a demo account.

Stick to your calculated strategy

At any given time, traders can be tempted to take action outside of the calculated strategy. When this happens, it puts a trader at risk to trade without a concrete action plan. If the trade does not go as predicted, this may result in strong feelings of regret.If you are easily affected by feelings of regret, the best way to approach a trade that feels risky is to stick to your calculated strategy. If you make decisions based on your current system, you will feel less regret if the trend went the other way. Instead of having self-directed emotions,following your calculated strategy will put more focus on fine tuning a skill or developing a better trading system.

Accept losses through rational thinking

Rationality is the ability to think about the cause, input, output, action, reaction, and have a logical progression from point 'A' to point 'B'. - The Odyssey Online
Regret has plenty to do with you way of thinking. As much as traders would never want to lose a trade, this is a valuable part of the trading process. By applying a more rational way of thinking, your actions will effectively be based on logic instead of impulse. This will not only help traders become more analytical but also encourage traders to realistically accept losses and avoid unmanageable feelings of regret.

Manage regrets to maintain focus and positivity

With a changeable market, traders must remember that disappointments or difficulties are a vital part of the learning process. To maintain a strong mental wellbeing, you must not disregard negative emotions. Rather, learn how to acknowledge regretful feelings, let go of any negativity and create an action plan to become better.All traders feel a sense of regret at one point or another. When experiencing dissatisfaction or worry, it is essential to have a healthy reaction towards difficulties or losses. Like any endeavour, there will be feelings of uneasiness and disappointment. Because of this, traders must master emotional management and gain a more positive outlook. Doing this will help traders avoid nervousness and promote constant productivity.Looking back on previous trades is healthy in a forex trading career. But when distextment or grief becomes unmanageable, it is important to take action. If you start to feel regrets when trading, apply simple and powerful methods to focus on an action plan and how to improve future trades.
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