FOMO or Fear of Missing out is something that every trader will run into at one time or another. It doesn't matter if you are day trading,scalping,swing trading or investing you will run into FOMO in one form or another. For some traders this will be the end of there account as they let FOMO wreck havoc on there emotions as they begin to go down the FOMO rabbit hole of bad decisions.
Other traders will step back and let the FOMO run its course before placing more trades, this should be the goal of all traders. You wont be able to get rid of FOMO but you will be able to get rid of how you use to handle FOMO.
What is FOMO or Fear of Missing Out? It is exactly that, the fear of missing out on a move and getting left behind with out any of the potential profits you "would" have gained if you would of entered into the market. The biggest issue with this is your brain automatically starts thinking the following" if we WOULD of entered here we WOULD of have x amount of dollars right now". This is the problem you are letting what possibly would of been take control of you and ruin your current state.
This is easier said then done but we need to get rid of the "would have been" and have a different view on the market. This all starts with being realistic, lets look at two different traders and how they view the market and how there emotions works.
Trader 1 or T1 thinks every single day he will make money and that he will catch every single move no matter what. Now this causes T1 to make lots of mistakes because he thinks that he MUST get a part of every single move or he feels like he is doing something wrong. T1 and FOMO turn into best friends because he is always chasing moves and is afraid he might miss out on something. This type of mind set wrecks havoc on T1's account as he is always trading but more importantly he is always trading emotionally. Emotions for a trader is like cancer, it spreads from his mind to his account until there is nothing left!
All of T1's issues started because he has the wrong mind set, that mindset is one that encourages FOMO. He needs to go back and understand that he does not need to place trades every day and that some trades will get away and that's okay, he simply needs to wait for the next one. Many traders think like T1 and they don't yet realize it, if T1 sounds like you then go back and think about how you really view the markets and view day trading. Many traders have this type of mindset and they do not realize it.
Trader 2 or T2 has a different approach to the markets, she knows that not every day will be a good day and there will be trades that unfortunately get away from her but that's life. She goes into every day simply wanting to follow her rules and let the trades come to her. FOMO is still present but instead of letting it wreck her day she comes to terms with it knows that there will be trades she misses out on but its okay because there will be more.
The real issue with FOMO is it is a part of your belief system, there is no special exercise that will get rid of it. You need to go back and evaluate yourself and see what your belief system is. Now FOMO can happen in a split second and that is why you need to believe that you will not get into every single trade. FOMO is stronger then out will to stop it when it happens that is why we need to stop it before it happens and this starts with a strong belief system.
If you are having issues with FOMO go back and be honest with your self and what you think you should be doing everyday. Once your honest with yourself you will be able to mend that behavior/mindset into something you want it to be. The biggest part of this process is being honest with your self, if you are not honest about what you want and how you think this will not work.
Comment down below if you have issues with FOMO and what you have done to get over it.
-Gorilla Futures