I’ve seen it too often. A new trader believes the hype and rushes into stocks before they are ready. Without preparation, they open an account and start buying shares. They make some profit and think “this is easy”. And then the day finally comes. An action that they begin to collapse. Almost as soon as they buy it, the price starts to drop. And then it falls some more. And the trader nervously goes through 100 different thoughts, trying to decide what to do. “Should I go out now and take the loss before it gets worse?” “Should I ‘be strong’ and wait?”

Then the internal dialogue starts to go downhill. “I’m so stupid, why did I let it go this far?” But the mind begins to rationalize. “Well, I’ll wait for it one more day and see if it improves before I sell it.”

Sounds familiar? If you’ve run more than a few trades, I’m sure you have.

Here’s the thing. Every trader experiences this. Every trader has daily trading losses. Every trader has to figure out how to handle it. In fact, until he gets to handle his losing trades, he will never make it as a day trader. I hate being so brutal. But it is the truth. You can glory all you want in the occasional brilliant trade. But, if his daily trading losses are wiping out those brilliant gains, then he won’t be playing the game much longer.

So what can you do about it?

Here are some basics to get you started. This advice is tried and true. If you are just starting day trading then it would be wise to stick with it.

1. Keep a journal. Record every trade, your profit/loss, what you did right/wrong, what you saw/didn’t see. If possible, print a chart of each trade to accompany that journal. Then review that journal every day and every weekend.

2. Find a solid strategy. Making money as a day trader is all about discipline. Discipline is based on doing what you are supposed to do, whether you feel like doing it or not. And you can’t have discipline until you have a strategy that tells you what you’re supposed to do and when you’re supposed to do it. These strategies don’t come quickly. They must be tested in real world trading and require you to keep honest records of each trade.

3. Don’t do it alone. It’s easy for the new day trader to sit in front of a computer, alone, and feel cut off from others. It’s dangerous actually. So, find a trading group, chat room, or somewhere that helps you interact with other traders. And don’t think he knows everything just because he’s been trading for a few months. Becoming a profitable day trader takes time. But who said you could earn a surgeon’s salary with a primary education?

You can learn to manage your daily trading losses. Following the three steps I just mentioned will get you started in the right direction.