- High pressure and stress is a part of the trading environment. Stress reduction is not a viable strategy. The approach instead is to build a person’s resilience and ability to cope more effectively with the pressure and stress that they are encountering.
- This is done by a process of exposure to the stressful events, and then recovery. The recovery process will prepare you to engage again but with a higher stress threshold.
- Build your stress exposure over time by gradually building the demands on your trading — slowly increasing your position sizing, complexity of trades, diversification, etc.
- Use relaxation techniques to enter a restorative state where your mind and body can recover.
- Look after your nutrition, exercise, sleep, get balance in your life with friends, family, other hobbies.
- Consistent performance is achieved when you have a healthy oscillation between positive peak performance states, and periods of recovery.
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rssTrading Wisdom – Michael Marcus
What is the best thing a trader can do to increase their chances for long-term success? Market Wizard Michael Marcus gives us a glimpse with this insightful quote: “Taking advantage of potential major winning trades is not only important to the mental health of the trader but is also critical to winning. Letting winners ride is every bit as important as cutting losses short. If you don’t stay with your winners, you are not going to be able to pay for the losers. In addition to not overtrading, it is important to commit to an exit point on every trade. Protective stops are very important because they force this commitment on the trader.” True words of wisdom!