I took a long look at myself after so many years of trading and noticed that ending with a loss on a Friday feels like swallowing a horse pill. It’s uncomfortable. It feels like hitting a wall. It’s the last trading “thought” of the week. All of a sudden, all the positive performance of the week and even the wins, feel like a distant memory. Why?
EGO.
On Friday, all options to “make up” for losses, prove that you can trade well, “practice” live trading (which I don’t recommend), etc are put to a halt. You HAVE to wait until the market is open again on Monday to re-engage.
We also have a tendency to put enormous weight on RECENT events (recency bias).
So, how can I deal with this feeling? First of all - it’s okay to feel it. It is NOT okay to let it saturate every aspect of the rest of my Friday and even the weekend. So, here is my tactic for RELEASING the residual that can be felt from ending on a down note:
Get outside. Sit in the sun (if it’s raining, stand under the umbrella). Take five very slow, deep breaths.
Exercise. This physically helps to relieve any tension and can help to release some endorphins. Nature’s anti-depressant :)
Review. After you have mentally and physically reset, it’s time to review your trades for the day/week. Were the losses due to the probability of your system - meaning, you completely followed your rules but they were chance losses? Hooray! Praise yourself for following your process completely. If your system has an edge, you WILL see a climbing equity curve over time. If your losses were due to mistakes, cowboy trading, no risk controls or overall crappy process — NOW is the time to take notes and write what you will be improving starting on Monday. Let this education, encourage you. They are just paid lessons.
You have the rest of your trading career. One day does NOT define you as a trader. One day, week or even a month of losses will happen over the course of the your trading career. The sooner we just accept that fact, the less our egos will feel bruised at the end of a down day.
