Trading in the Zone: Master the Market with Confidence, Discipline, and a Winning Attitude

by Mark Douglas

he had to create a new belief and de-activate the conflicting ones. This is the secret to achieving consistent success as a trader.

If producing consistent results is your primary objective as a trader, then creating a belief (a conscious, energized concept that resists change and demands expression) that “I am a consistently successful trader” will act as a primary source of energy

if that is your desire, then you will have to step into the process of transforming yourself into a consistent winner. When it comes to personal transformation, the most important ingredients are your willingness to change, the clarity of your intent, and the strength of your desire.

Making mistakes is a natural function of living and will continue to be until we reach a point at which: 1. all our beliefs are in absolute harmony with our desires, and 2. all our beliefs are structured in such a way that they are completely consistent with what works from the environment’s perspective.

I defined a winning attitude as a positive expectation of our efforts,

with an acceptance that whatever results we do get are a perfect reflection of our level of development and what we need to learn to do better.

everything we think, say, or do contributes energy to some belief in our mental system.

I AM A CONSISTENT WINNER BECAUSE: 1. I objectively identify my edges. 2. I predefine the risk of every trade. 3. I completely accept the risk or I am willing to let go of the trade. 4. I act on my edges without reservation or hesitation. 5. I pay myself as the market makes money available to me. 6. I continually monitor my susceptibility for making errors.

7. I understand the absolute necessity of these principles of consistent success and, therefore, I never violate them.

When you stop making trading errors, you’ll begin trusting yourself.

sense of self-trust increases, so will your sense of self-confidence. The greater your confidence, the easier it will be to execute your trades

Ideally, your risk-to-reward ratio should be at least 3:1, which means you are only risking one dollar for every three dollars of profit potential.