Hey Guys,
Well the market took us for a big ride last Friday and into this morning. It plunged more than 150 points. The S&P 500 is down near the 4100 level, which matches the lowest point it reached earlier this year.
Amidst all that market turmoil, I had a number of positions hit their stoplosses this morning. In the main account alone, five different trades hit a stoploss. That's a tough day at the office!
This offers us a great opportunity to check in on ourselves. Back tests suggests periods of drawdown like this are inevitable, and we have no control over when they happen. What I like to ask myself at a time like this is, "How do I WANT to respond to this?"
Do I want to be the person who explodes in anger when I take losses in the stock market? Do I want to be the person who is down in the dumps every time I take losses in the market? Or do I want to stay cool and treat it like simply another part of the journey (of trading and of life) and accept it.
I personally would like to stay cool, and I can help manifest that by having awareness of my thoughts. I can choose how I respond to the thoughts that come up during periods of drawdown like this. If a thought that generates anger or fear comes up, I don't have to pursue the thought or give it energy in any way. I can choose to let it go and remind myself of how I really want to respond to the situation.
I did pick up some new positions today. In the main account I bought shares of PG and MAR. In the extra options account I bought PG options. And in the low-priced account I bought LW.
If you have any questions or feedback, I'd love to hear from you.