Trading Psychology: Are You Trading Outside Your Comfort Zones?

Hi there. Brian McAvoy with Inside Out Trading. And I just want to talk to you real quick about, you know, as far as on the topic of trading psychology, more specifically comfort zones, this is one area where I think some traders, they get some advice that I would consider actually bad advice. I mean, the ultimate goal for everybody is you want to have, you know, good, calm, clear state of mind, make good decisions and make consistent profits, right? Well, there are some who say, well, you know, you shouldn't try to trade inside your comfort zones. You know, you should be trading, you know, outside your comfort zones because, you know, if you're trading with inside your comfort zones and you're going to be trading too small and all that kind of stuff, and I totally disagree with that. And here's why. There's a very simple reason that you should not be trading outside of your comfort zones, and that is if you're outside your comfort zones, by definition, you're in an emotional state. If you're inside your comfort zones, that means you're emotionally calm and you can be clear. You can think with a clear head and make good decisions. If you're in an emotional state, that's when it's going to be hard to make good decisions consistently. Can you make good decisions when you're in an emotional state? Sure, sometimes. But the odds are against you. And why set the odds against you? Now, there are also those who say, as far as your comfort zones, you need to stretch them. So, yeah, just go ahead and go trade outside your comfort zones and that's how you stretch them. And again, I think that's very unhealthy advice. And here's why. As far as stretching your comfort zones, you don't necessarily have to take the whole no pain, no gain kind of approach where it's like, no, put yourself in an uncomfortable situation and just fight through the pain. No, the way you stretch your comfort zones in a healthy way is when you're outside, you're trading. That's when you up your game. When you improve your capabilities, you improve your confidence. And one of the great ways to do that, and I've talked about this before, is if nothing else, just go into your SIM account and practice your method. Getting in the reps outside of trading will help you build your confidence and in building your confidence and your confidence in yourself and in your system, that in and of itself will stretch your comfort zones because now, because you have a better depth of knowing that you're okay, that you're good with your system and you're Good trading it, that in and of itself is going to stretch your comfort zones because now you can go out and trade more, you know, outside of what you used to, but not because you're stretching, you know, you're forcing it through your comfort zones through fear and courage and all that kind of stuff. No, you're doing it because now you're a more capable trader because you've gotten in more, more good experience. And of course training is always a fantastic way to stretch your comfort zones because yeah, if you're trading, you know, so let's say you know, you've been trading and you never have really gotten good training to be a trader. You've only gotten you training on specific methods and maybe some mental hacks to help you fight with your emotions or that kind of stuff. That's not good training. I mean, it can be helpful, but it's not helping you become a better trader. When you become a better trader, when your capabilities are more, when your understanding is more and it's more in depth and you have more experience, more good experience under your belt that you get through training and getting that outside help, that's when you really stretch your comfort zones. So from a psychological standpoint, yes, comfort zones, it is an important deal. And don't trade outside your comfort zones. Stretch your comfort zones in a healthy way so that you're not having to lose money to stretch your comfort zones and, or just reinforce bad habits and bad trading. Anyway, I hope this has been helpful. If it has, you know, give me a like and a subscribe down below. Share this with your friends and you know, really, again, I hope this is just helpful for you because if you focus on you as the trader, you're the most important aspect of your system and your trading. So focusing on you and helping you become a better trader, that's where I focus. If you'd like to book a call with me, swing by Inside Out Trading. We'll talk about your trading and how they really, you know, get you where you'd like to be with. Anyway, again, hopefully it's been helpful. Talk to you soon. Cheers. So do you sometimes struggle with inconsistent results from your trading? You know, a little too much variability in what you're getting as far as, you know, winners and losers. If you like some help with your consistency, that's my area of expertise. I used to be a quality assurance manager and quality is all about getting consistent results, predictable, reliable results. So if you'd like my help with your trading, swing by insideouttrading.com schedule a call with me. We'll get on. We'll talk about your situation, see if I can help you improve the consistency of your trading results. Talk to you soon.