Losing hurts. We don’t like losing. But in trading, losing is part of the business. The sooner you realize that you’re going to run into losing trades along the way, the better.

No matter how accurate your trading strategy is, some percentage of your trades will result in losses. So don’t worry about those good trades that resulted in losses, BUT let’s look at what to do if we suffer a series of consecutive losses.

If you are experiencing a losing streak, you need to take the following steps:

Think of losing trades as holes. If you fall into a small hole, it will be easy to get out. But if you keep digging and widening the hole, it will be harder to get out.

If you lose several times, you need to temporarily stop trading. Take the time to calm down and look at what is causing the losses. I recommend a break of at least 24 hours.

There are good trades that fail and bad trades that succeed. You need to make sure that you are only taking good trades that are in line with your strategy and system.

If you are only taking good trades and still experiencing consistent losses, you need to revisit your strategy. Maybe your strategy works in trending markets or on certain time frames. Make sure you are using the right strategy for the actual market conditions.

Every strategy is built for certain market conditions. Some work in consolidations, some in trending markets, some in periods of high volatility, and so on. You need to have a plan and strategy for each environment, and once you know which strategy to follow, you need to stick to your rules. You need to be very strict about when to enter a trade and also take risk management measures. Make sure you use risk and money management on every trade.

If others are doing it, you need to believe that you can too. This means staying positive in the face of overwhelming adversity and frequent failure. Set a goal to get over the hill, put your head down, and keep going.

This means that every time you feel like you have failed, change your perspective and terminology. Make yourself believe that there are no failures, only events to learn from.

When you first started trading, you didn’t even know a fraction of what you were working on now, and nothing was perfect. Every time you don’t succeed, it simply means that you have something to add to your experience and learn from. The best traders have a road littered with bad trades and losses. These are just the speed bumps needed to correct your course and force you to truly focus on the art of trading.

Think of yourself as a child learning to ride a bike: every time you fall, someone should encourage you to get up and try again. This is how you should approach the beginning of your trading career. Taking a long break or running away from the problem is not a viable solution. You can only do deep research into why you fell when the failure is fresh. So, go for it and keep moving forward!

So, you have taken a break and reviewed your strategy. Now is the time to return to the market and regain your confidence. To do this, you need to reduce the lot size to the minimum. You want to retest your strategy and your skills, focusing on consistency. At this point, you do not want to recover all the losses, but you want to get used to the market again and remind yourself that you are a good trader.

Once your stats return to normal, it is time to increase the lot size again and recover the losses.

Now that you feel ready to trade again, you may want to consider finding a trading partner.

This means having another person around your trading activities. This could be a mentor, your wife, your husband, anyone. By sharing your daily trading experiences, you will increase your commitment to analyzing your position and increase your level of learning.

Exchanging ideas with another person is incredibly effective when it comes to bringing potential problems to attention.

Because you are speaking out loud, you will be more insightful and eloquent when explaining your trading experiences. After all, you will get to know yourself, your strengths, and your weaknesses better. This other person can also challenge you by offering new perspectives and ways to see yourself and your actions. Even though much of our trading lives happens when we are alone, do not allow yourself to fall into a lone wolf scenario.

Talking about your experiences will help you escape the echo chamber of your mind.

Once you have completed the previous steps, you have identified what caused the losses in the first place, you have adapted your trading strategy, and your confidence has returned. So it is time to slowly return to trading.

If you want to make a living trading, you can’t quit. Get back to real trading with smaller amounts of money. Always learn from the market and from your losses, and use what you have learned to your advantage, you just became a better trader!

Put your boots on and get back to business!

To succeed in trading, you must be able to return to the markets after a losing streak. If you simply quit, you will join the vast majority of people who will not go through the process of learning from mistakes to become a successful trader. Markets are constantly changing, and as traders, we must adapt to these changes. A series of losing trades can be a sign that the markets are changing and you are not. All successful traders will face these problems, so just remember to follow these steps the next time you find yourself losing consistently. Stop, readjust, and get back on track!