One of the psychological abilities that traders need to have is the ability to let go and move one when a trade does not go as expected. In other words, traders cannot afford (literally) to be sentimental about their trades, be they profitable or losing trades.
Why Sentimental Trading?
There are various reasons why a trader might be sentimental about one (or all) of their trades. Some traders simply have sentimental personalities and are sentimental about everything in their lives. Some traders are not sentimental in general, but are sentimental about their egos, and therefore cannot accept they have made a losing trade. Some traders are sentimental about money, and are therefore unable to exit any losing trades because that would mean accepting a loss.
How To Overcome Sentimental Trading
Whatever the cause, sentimental trading will have a negative impact on any trader's profit and loss, and therefore it must be overcome.
Traders that are sentimental about everything should have the easiest time overcoming their sentimental trading, because their sentimentality is not specifically related to trading (excepting traders whose sentimentality is caused by a mental issue such as a compulsive disorder). These traders are perfectly capable of letting go of things (e.g. they probably throw away empty packaging on a daily basis), so they should be able to apply the same thought process to their sentimental trading (e.g. they are simply letting go of a trade that they no longer need or want).
Traders that are sentimental about their egos will have the hardest time fixing their sentimental trading, because their sentimental trading includes their self worth. These traders need to recognize that all traders make losing trades from time to time (just hopefully not too many). Part of being a professional trader is being able to learn from any mistakes that were made as part of a losing trade (if there were any mistakes), and be able to move on to the next trade without any further thought about the losing trade.
Traders that are sentimental about money will also have a hard time overcoming their sentimental trading (but not as hard as the ego based sentimental traders). These traders tend to hold onto their losing trades in the hope that they will reverse and become profitable trades. These traders need to learn that holding onto losing trades will only make the losses larger in the long run. Eventually there will be a losing trade that does not reverse, and this one losing trade will then erase any profit that was made by holding the previous losing trades (this actually happened to a trader on the very day that I warned them about it).
Sentimental Trading Should Be Simulation Trading
If you are a sentimental trader, and are having difficulty overcoming your sentimental trading, try trading in simulation rather than trading live. By trading in simulation you will be able to practice letting go of your trades without reaping the consequences of any mistakes (i.e. without risking any real money). Once you have mastered the psychology of letting go of your trades, you should find it easier to switch to live trading without becoming sentimental about your trades again.
