It hurts doesn't it? Specially, if you lost money because you made stupid trading decisions. You tried calling a bottom or catching a falling knife. Then its hard to say what hurts more....the losses or the stupidity. Most of the times it's the latter. I can feel your pain dear readers. Though I wasn't much hurt (emphasis on much) from this fall due to my trading sabbatical, I have been there before.
At times like these, it helps to get things in a proper perspective. So, you lost money. Maybe you lost a lot of money. Hopefully, you only trade with money you can afford to lose and not money needed to pay next month's bills. If not, cut back on your trading accounts immediately. Even if you did not lose money. Only trade with money you can afford to lose.
Now the next step. Money is fluid. By that I mean, money comes and goes. That's the nature of money. You were the one who earned it in the first place, and you were the one who lost it. Accept the responsibility. It wasn't the markets. It was you. It was all you. For the profits and the losses. It wasn't the markets or what's happening in Greece. It was you and it will always be you. You lost it in the last couple of days and only you can earn it back. But here, it is very important not to let the temptation of getting back at the markets creep in. If you accept the responsibility, then the markets are not at all to blame, so what for do you want to get back at the markets? Take it slow and easy. It might take you months to recover from the damage caused in the last couple of days to your trading accounts. But that's OK. Trading, like most important things in life, is about the processes and the journey rather than the destination.
I talked earlier about putting things in proper perspective. I would be the last person to belittle the importance of money in our lives, but in the end, if you were trading only with the money you can afford to lose, its only money. You can always earn it back. Some things in life are so much more important and once gone, can never come back. Take your health, for example. Or the time spent with your loved ones. Now these are things that money can't buy. So, take comfort in the arms of your family and loved ones (or your favorite alcoholic beverage if you are like me :)...Pathetic, I know). instead of brooding over the losses tonight. This reminds me of a post I wrote in January when my account took a big hit due to days like these. Disclaimer: The following post was written after, actually during, generous consumptions of good ol' bourbon.
In the end, I would just like to say that things are never as bad as they seem to be. Even I know that at my ripe old age of 28 years. So, I take it dear readers, you know that too. Believe in it.
Take care and good luck!
