i'm about ready to walk away from the market

I'm very close to selling off all my beloved stocks and just walk away from the market for a long time. I'm fast loosing interest, and even with all my good trades, I find the losses really can eat away at the overall picture. If I sell out now, I will walk away with zero gains and zero losses from the market. I'm at the point where there is no excitement left, and have no attachment to my stocks.

If I don't sell, and my remaining profited stocks fall in value, then I will be in the red. I think many would love to be in the position to square off with the market. I've given my stocks a threshold that if their total value fall below a certain level then I will fire the pin and put the realised cash into my term deposit account.

It's been fun, but I have to say it's almost burnt me out emotionally and I've pretty much had a gut full of worrying, etc.

Yes, I should remain focused on the big picture, but the big picture is not the same 'big picture' that our previous generations looked into when they were trading. Our world has changed in a big way since baby boomers ruled, and globalization has pretty much stunted the forward march enjoyed by Europe, the US, the UK and Japan for probably the rest of our immediate lifetime. I could be wrong, but I'd rather be wrong and have my money safe in the bank, than gambling on the economies of the big nations to really start to become productive, rather than just consumers. Until that happens, I believe the upwards projections are overly optimistic.

I'll be on standby - the market may suddenly rise hard and reward me for hanging on. But I'm oh so close, that I'm itching to get out altogether.

The best part of trading for me, however, has not been the profits and the losses, but the journey. It's been invaluable looking deep into the complex world of human emotions and behaviour. Expect the unexpected, and never fight the market when it turns hard a certain way by remaining in denial.

Learning the fact that stocks trade at fair values during normal market periods. But, more importantly, being aware that a bull market causes sentiment to push the stocks well up beyond their fair value making them overpriced. The fact that they continue to rise despite their overvalue, spruikers here will quickly shout down anyone who disputes that these are good value. If there's ever a sign that the market is ripe for picking your fruit, that is it. Watch out for well educated economists saying "the ASX will hit 6000 by the end of the year". That is another good sign. How the freaking hell would they know where it will end? A good 6 months of growth, and everyone doubles the rise for their projection. Well done!

Finally, poor sentiment will suck the life out of great stocks, regardless of how good value they are. People are happy to buy CBA at over $50 when the market is red hot, but are scared stiff when it's below 30. Remain focused on the big picture, when everyone paints the big picture as bleak. That is probably the time to re-enter. It may be the time right now, but then again...........