[autoPie]

Part of what drew me to SA was that it suited my personality rather well. I'm quite stubborn and with a great deal of conviction, would find myself holding on to losing positions believing my original "thesis" or "rational" for buying remained intact... Part of learning to deal with the emotional swings (for me at least) involved having them roiled first. When I came across SA I knew right away it was for me because it had guidelines that removed some of the emotional roadblocks that destroy most retail traders. 

Some who learn to trade with a paper account first might learn some valuable things, but it'll obviously be nothing like trading a real account. Trading for real teaches much more because of that initial stress of inevitable losses. There's much less stress however when using stop losses. (Some traders claim to have no stress but I think it's always there at some level).  

As a newbie trader I didn't have a stop loss and learned the hard way. For me this was the best way to learn first hand how to deal with my emotions. After getting slammed I decided to never ever be so stupidly reckless as to not have a stop loss. I'm still learning how to better incorporate them. I think a lot of newer traders focus too much on the buying. I still often find myself more focused on getting the perfect stage 2/2a breakout entry. The overlooked, more crucial component is the exit and defining the acceptable risk for each trade. I can sell into either strength or weakness. With a stop loss in place, I'll live to fight another day. And the stress is greatly mitigated. The decision of where to sell upon weakness has already been made. And I can still choose to sell into strength should the opportunity come.