Participation and Pain

 If you're wondering I traded RIOT today,  but what I traded won't last as anything important in my opinion. What was important was that there was a catalyst for why I traded it. In fact, I don't know exactly what all of the catalyst was about - that is, I didn't look into any detail on what is going on.  I did know BTC (bitcoin) was going crazy and there is some rumor about with the ishares (being taken down). This is all good to me because this sets things up for there to be participation! Mmm! Participation is a like your favorite dessert being brought out on a silver platter for you to devour. I took four trades one (the second one) was stopped out but 3 and 4 covered it all. And that's how trading works. If I had been wrong on 3 and 4 then I would definitely have to step aside for a bit and recalibrate and think about my ideas and what I am seeing. Luckily with the action being based off of BTC there was a kind of thermometer for what "should" or "could" be going on. This would be like having a major stock in the sector and the Sector ETF as a "guide" which can help sometimes.  I use quotes because I always have to remember that nothing is for sure - that is it could be helping guide or could not be helping. After a bit of time you can build confidence, but always need to remember that things can deviate. So back to the trade - there was news! great! My setups were based on premarket levels and ATR. Lucky for me it came right up to about 2 ATR from yesterdays closes and didn't go any higher so I took that and it paid me.  If I had been more patient, it would have paid me more. And this is what I am working on. Patience with my profits. Or really, maybe even a second trade.  Either way. Holding for the bigger move I believe will be something that really takes me to the next level.  And really identifying the reasons I should be staying with my ideas. One of those Natural mindset things that Tom Hougaard talks about that we need to work on to change - our desire to take profits out of fear that we will feel pain if we lose those profits. I originally had a small portion of my size left on to see if It would continue, but rather than let it run it's course, I moved my stop closer and closer and eventually canceled it and just got out. I was already in the money and didn't need to worry about losing anything except gains and this time I failed to fight against protecting against future pain. What is the best about this is that if I had let it go, the small amount would have doubled from it's previous max profit (before I exited) and 5 times more than when I actually exited.  So by succumbing to fear of losing all profits on this small portion, I really lost potential for more profits.  And so goes trading so far. But i guess the first step to a solution is the acceptance of a problem. right?  Ok just need to let some go and watch it work for me. What I think is amazing is that there was no way I was going to go negative on the trade, but still the desire to not lose even a little more or gains drove me to cut the position completely. Quite interesting really. Anyway. Have you experienced this? What have you done to combat fear in trading? Lost of earnings coming up! Have a great day or night wherever you are! Cheers!