Good morning, tradersâŠ
Tell me if this has ever happened to youâŠ
You open up your brokerage platform in the morning and see a setup that checks all of your boxes.
The stock has huge Smart Money options volume coming in, a clean chart developing, and a bullish news catalyst for good measureâŠ
But just as youâre about to place your order, a little voice in your head whispers sentiments of uncertainty and doubt.
Instead of focusing on why the setup is promising, you start grasping for reasons why you shouldn’t trade it.
You pass on the setup.
A few days later, those contracts are 3x higher than where you wouldâve bought them.
You’re left sitting there, wondering, âHow did I miss that move?â
It wasnât your strategy. It wasnât your chart reading. It wasnât the market stacked against youâŠ
It was your fear of losing.
I wonât sugarcoat it. You must work your hardest to avoid this blind spot ⊠because trading scared is a surefire way to fail in the markets.
If youâre too fearful to enter those perfect, box-checking setups, youâll never make meaningful profits. Itâs that simple.
The best traders are fearless in the face of a great setup. They trust their process and stick to their strategy no matter what the temporary voices in their head say.
In the science fiction classic Dune, author Frank Herbert wrote:
But for you, âFear is the account-killer.â
Letâs overcome the fear of losing, once and for allâŠ
Define Your Risk Before You Enter the Trade
Fear thrives in uncertainty. If you donât know how much youâre willing to lose before you click enter, youâll always feel unsettled.
Pre-set your risk: entry, stop loss, and target. Write it down or enter it into your platform before the trade is live.
Determining your risk tolerance ahead of time puts you back in control.
Size Small Enough That You Can Think Clearly
If your position size makes you sweat before the trade even starts, itâs too big.
You canât trade your plan if youâre emotionally overwhelmed.
Keep your sizing small, so it almost feels boring. Thatâs how you build real confidence and consistency.
Track Your Setups (Even the Ones You Skip)
Every time you pass on a setup, log it. Write down why you skipped it and what the trade wouldâve done.
Over time, youâll see whether those fears were valid or just noise. Youâll also build a file of âI shouldâve taken thatâ trades.
Tracking your trades gives you powerful data. Use it.
Review Your Winners More Than Your Losers
Most traders obsess over what went wrong. But if youâre scared to enter good setups, what you need is proof that your edge works.
Revisit your best trades. Study them. Remember how they looked when you entered, how you felt, what the chart showed, why you trusted it.
Repetition helps rewire your confidence.
Create a Pre-Trade Routine That Grounds You
Fear likes to sneak in when youâre rushing. But thereâs a simple way to avoid thisâŠ
Create a repeatable pre-trade routine: check the setup, confirm volume, assess news/catalyst, define your risk ⊠and then, take a deep breath.
Meditate on why youâre taking the trade. Some traders even say their rules out loud before entering.
Whatever centers you, use it.
Accept That You Will Lose, And Thatâs Okay
Losses donât mean you did something wrong. Theyâre part of the game. The sooner you make peace with that, the less power fear has.
A well-managed losing trade is a win in disguise. It means you followed your plan. And thatâs how you keep the highest probability of success.
Trust Your Process More Than the Outcome
Scared traders obsess over what might happen. Skilled traders focus on following their process.
You canât control whether a trade wins or loses. You can control whether you stuck to your plan (and whether it met your criteria).
You donât have to eliminate fear completely to trade well. You just need to stop letting it hijack your decision-making.
The next time you see a setup that checks all your boxes, donât let hesitation steal the opportunity.
Youâve done the work. Trust it.
Happy trading,
Ben Sturgill
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You donât need a fancy setup.
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