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Psychological

.PsychologicalThe goal of any trader is to turn profits on a regular basis, yet so few people ever really make consistent money as traders. What accounts for the small percentage of traders who are consistently successful is psychological—the consistent winners think differently from everyone else.

The defining characteristic that separates the consistent winners from everyone else is this: The winners have attained a mind-set—aunique set of attitudes—that allows them to remain disciplined, focused,and, above all, confident in spite of the adverse conditions.

Those traders who have confidence in their own trades, who trust themselves to do what needs to be done without hesitation, are the ones who become successful.They
no longer fear the erratic behavior of the market. They learn to focus on the information that helps them spot opportunities to make a profit, rather than focusing on the information that reinforces their fears.

You don’t need to know what’s going to happen next to make money; anything can happen, and every moment is unique, meaning every edge and outcome is truly a unique experience.

The trader that it’s his attitude and “state of mind” that determine his results.

THE CAT STEVENS PHILOSOPHY

We tend to think that taking a loss on a trade is the end of the world when it is not.  It is just a trade that did not work out.  Period.  No need to re-invent the wheel, throw out the baby with the bath water, or cry wolf one too many times.  Maybe we should simply have the attitude of Cat.
… if I ever lost my hands
Lose my plough, lose my land
Oh, if I ever lose my hands- Oh, if…
I wont have to work no more
And if I ever lose my eyes
If my colors all run dry
And if I ever lose my eyes – Oh,
I won’t have to cry no more
And if I ever lose my legs
I won’t moan and I won’t beg
Oh if I ever lose my legs- Oh if…
I won’t have to walk no more
And if I ever lose my mouth
All my teeth, north and south
Yes, if I ever lose my mouth- Oh if…
I won’t have to talk…
Let’s add another stanza here for the stock trader…
… if I ever lose a trade
The Market takes the money I could have made
Oh, if I ever lose a trade…
I won’t have to brag no more!
Kind of puts things in their proper perspective doesn’t it?

Psychological

The goal of any trader is to turn profits on a regular basis, yet so few people ever really make consistent money as traders. What accounts for the small percentage of traders who are consistently successful is psychological—the consistent winners think differently from everyone else.

The defining characteristic that separates the consistent winners from everyone else is this: The winners have attained a mind-set—aunique set of attitudes—that allows them to remain disciplined, focused,and, above all, confident in spite of the adverse conditions.

Those traders who have confidence in their own trades, who trust themselves to do what needs to be done without hesitation, are the ones who become successful.They
no longer fear the erratic behavior of the market. They learn to focus on the information that helps them spot opportunities to make a profit, rather than focusing on the information that reinforces their fears.

You don’t need to know what’s going to happen next to make money; anything can happen, and every moment is unique, meaning every edge and outcome is truly a unique experience.

The trader that it’s his attitude and “state of mind” that determine his results.

12 Quotes From ‘Trading In The Zone


I spent hours reading and re-reading this book, and eventually made a summary of all the key quotes.  In a series of posts I’ll be sharing these quotes with you, and hopefully they will inspire you to take your trading to the next level.  I hope you enjoy my first selections:    
1.  You will need to learn how to adjust your attitudes and beliefs about trading in such a way that you can trade without the slightest bit of fear, but at the same time keep a framework in place that does not allow you to become reckless.
2. Trading is an activity that offers the individual unlimited freedom of creative expression.
3. The unlimited characteristics of the trading environment require that we act with some degree of restraint and self-control, at least if we want to create some measure of consistent success.
4. The hard reality of trading is that, if you want to create consistency, you have to start from the premise that no matter what the outcome, you are completely responsible.
5. One of the principal reasons so many successful people have failed miserably at trading is that their success is partly attributable to their superior ability to manipulate and control the social environment, to respond to what they want.  (Unfortunately) the market doesn’t respond to control and manipulation (unless you’re a very large trader).
6. The tools you will use to create this new version of yourself are your willingness and desire to learn, fuelled by your passion to be successful.  Successful traders have virtually eliminated the effects of fear and recklessness from their trading.
7. Attitude produces better overall results than analysis or technique. (more…)

Patience

No matter which mask you wore in May, June brings with it new opportunities and new perils. It is difficult sometimes to separate ourselves from the action, always afraid of missing the next great opportunity. But trust me when I say that learning patience is one of the greatest skills a trader can develop. Instead of coming into each trading day with an “I gotta make money” mentality, it would behoove traders to develop a more market-neutral attitude and focus on the process instead of the outcome. To that end, let me share some ideas that have helped me over the years to control the impulsivity that many traders find hard to control.

Human Life Today Has Become So "LESS "

Phone :Cordless

Cooking :Fireless

Food :Fatless

Dress :Sleeveless

Youth :Jobless

Leaders :Shamless

Govt :Hopeless

Job :Thankless

Police :Clueless

Policies :Aimless

Conduct :Worthless

Relations :Meaningless

Attitude :Careless

Feelings :Heartless

Education :Valueless

Arguments :Baseless

Days :Restless

Nights :Sleepless

Future :Directionless

& Still the  expectations are ENDLESS !

LESSONS FROM TRADING IN THE ZONE BY MARK DOUGLAS

1.) When it comes to trading, it turns out that the skills we learn to earn high marks in school, advance our careers and create relationships with other people, turn out to be inappropriate for trading.  Traders must learn to think in terms of probabilities and surrender all of the skills acquired to achieve in virtually every other aspect of life.

2.) Within 9 months of moving to Chicago, I had lost nearly everything I owned.  My losses were the result of both my trading activities and my exorbitant lifestyle, which demanded that I make a lot of money as a trader.

3.) You don’t need to know what’s going to happen next to make money.  Anything can happen.  Every moment is unique, meaning every edge and outcome is truly a unique experience.  The trade either works or it doesn’t.

4.) More or better market analysis is not the solution to his trading difficulties or lack of consistent results.  It is attitude and “state of mind” that determine his results.  A winner’s mindset means learning how to think in probabilities.

5.) The edge means there’s a higher probability of one outcome than another.  The greater your confidence, the easier it will be to execute your trades.

6.) Do you ever feel compelled to make a trade because you are afraid that you might miss out?

7.) People , expressing their beliefs and expectations about the future, make prices move- not models.  The fact that a model makes a logical and reasonable projection based on all the relevant variables is not of much value if the traders who are responsible for most of the trading volume aren’t aware of the model or don’t believe in it.  In other words, people who trade don’t always act in a rational manner.

8.) Price movement could be so volatile that it would be very difficult, if not impossible, to stay in a trade in order to realize the fundamental analysts’ objective. (more…)

Simple Formula For Performance.

Potential is what everyone has inside them, it is the education, learning, development, support and time put in that enables one to continually develop their capabilities. This can increase, at least until either physical or mental limitations constrain further growth. 
Interference is what detracts from potential to reduce performance. This can be down to any number of reasons, perhaps environmental or external factors, physical or mental hurdles or limitations, poor execution of process, inadequate self-management. Many of these can be deatlt with in some way; however, the greatest threat in most cases is from attitude and mindset. Perhaps it could be something as simple as seeing yourself failing and recalling the look of an angry parent, a doubting physical education teacher or a school bully from your younger years who always told you that you did not have what it takes. – This creates that painful memory which instils that moment of hesitation or self-doubt just when you least need it. – Who hasn’t at some time during their trading had that pang of self-doubt, or lacked the self-belief or confidence just at a crucial moment, and then looked back with regret and heartache, in some cases leading to a whole cycle of self-doubt and poor decisions, execution and position sizing.

How to become contrarian?

contrarian11. Come to the market with a trading plan. Most traders don’t have a plan built around high odds trade set ups. Thus, they trade random patterns.

2. Put in the necessary work. You can’t be like most traders and just show up to the markets expecting to make big money in a short period of time. Don’t be like most traders; become contrarian. It takes hard work and study. Prepare yourself to trade well.

3. Enter on reactions, not on breakouts. Most traders see the market begin to move and then jump in. These dog-piling events are made-to-order for professional traders to act. They unload when the herd is buying, and stock up when it is selling. Adopt a professional’s attitude and look to sell into strength and buy into weakness.

4. Work on the mental side of trading, not just the technical side. Understanding how to read the chart is vital, of course. But it is not enough. Once the technical side is learned, trading becomes 100% psychological. Most traders think psychology is unimportant until it is too late. Be contrarian and put time in to learning the mental skills needed to trade well.

5. Keep learning. Not just about the markets but about your own performance, too. Most traders take a losing trade and sweep it under the rug. They try to forget about it. Likewise, they don’t bother to study their winning trades. They have little idea of why one trade worked and another didn’t. Be contrarian: review your trading and keep a journal.

Becoming contrari (more…)

State of Mind

The goal of any trader is to turn profits on a regular basis, yet so few people ever really make consistent money as traders. What accounts for the small percentage of traders who are consistently successful is psychological—the consistent winners think differently from everyone else.

The defining characteristic that separates the consistent winners from everyone else is this: The winners have attained a mind-set—aunique set of attitudes—that allows them to remain disciplined, focused,and, above all, confident in spite of the adverse conditions.

Those traders who have confidence in their own trades, who trust themselves to do what needs to be done without hesitation, are the ones who become successful.They
no longer fear the erratic behavior of the market. They learn to focus on the information that helps them spot opportunities to make a profit, rather than focusing on the information that reinforces their fears.

You don’t need to know what’s going to happen next to make money; anything can happen, and every moment is unique, meaning every edge and outcome is truly a unique experience.

The trader that it’s his attitude and “state of mind” that determine his results.