An egotistical trader is more likely to argue with the markets, potentially leading to huge losing days or possible account blow-outs. You don’t need to win on every trade, or even every trading day, or every trading week.
A humble trader is able to admit that his trading is creating nothing but losses that day, and stop trading until the markets are better suited to his/her style. A humble trader is less likely to double-up into excessively risky trades, in order to ‘get back even’ on the trade or on the day. A humble trader has nothing to prove, to anyone, and can freely admit mistakes to themself and others, enabling them to quickly and easily react to what the market is telling them, with little regard for it’s contradiction to what he/she may have expected only minutes earlier.
Conversely, and egotistical trader might confidently tell his friends ‘what is going to happen’ and is unwilling or unable to subsequently change his mind when the market tells him otherwise. Once he’s made a public proclamation, he can’t go back on his ‘call’ or he might appear to be wrong.
The successful trader can’t tie up their self image or self worth on a single trade, or a single trading day. Keeping your attitude humble enables you to simply treat each and every trade as individually irrelevant, and allows you to focus on doing what’s right, and not being right.”
I’ll close with the questions I ask myself about each trade at the end of the day:
1. Was it a valid setup?
2. Did I wait for confirmation of the setup and follow my rules for entry?
3. Did I implement my risk management plan?
4. Did I manage the trade according to my rules, taking profits at or beyond the initial target, never earlier unless a valid stop-and-reverse signal appeared?“A successful trader is humble, not egotistical. The trader that knows it all, will typically quickly be proven wrong by the market. The humble attitude leads a trader to be willing to admit mistakes quickly, close out losing trades, and move on without loss of confidence.
What is the definition of confidence? I define confidence as positive thoughts, feelings and actions reflecting your self-belief and expectations of your ultimate success. Success is never guaranteed, but self-doubt and negativity can ensure failure. When you believe in yourself, you move away from harmful distractions such as anxiety and fear, and you move toward a more effective performance focus. Today, we’ll take a look at how to make sure you’re confident enough to survive the trading game.