Emotions are probably the biggest obstacle any trader has to overcome. Many traders become losers because they can’t follow a plan. They see a couple of losses, get excited, abandoned the plan and start to take wild shots at the market.
Traders who develop a sound set of trading rules that match their financial situation with their objectives, and then stick with those rules, increase their chances of becoming big winners. Trading discipline can be more important than your trading system.
Discipline means you must become mechanical in making trades when certain price actions occur. You must shut off your emotions, and not accept one trading signal over another. Disciplined traders let profits run and keep losses short by following rigid guidelines. (more…)
Trading is a crucible of life: it distills, in a matter of minutes, the basic human challenge: the need to judge, plan, and seek values under conditions of risk and uncertainty. In mastering trading, we necessarily face and master ourselves. Very few arenas of life so immediately reward self-development–and punish its absence.