Beliefs Of Successful Traders Vs. Unsuccessful Traders
Beliefs of Successful Traders vs. Unsuccessful Traders
What separates a longterm successful trader/investor from an unsuccessful one? One of the main components is “mental game” as well as being systematic and organized. These are some of the traits and practices that I’ve found are in line with success:
Mindset and Practices of Successful Traders:
The markets provide an opportunity
The markets exist to give me profits
If I get stopped out then I have to reevaluate the trade
If the market doesn’t do what I expect then I must reconsider
I’ll take one trade at a time
I don’t have to be perfect I just have to do my best.
Money is not that important
Losing is part of the process of making money
Trading is a game I know I can win
Every setback provides me with new market information
I can wait for an opportunity to come
Get pleasure from trading the market as an end in itself
Not motivated primarily by money
Confident that they can make money in the market
Not afraid to take a loss
Patient waits for opportunities
Uses a highly planned strategy
Is well prepared done his/her homework
Measures the risk/reward ratio of every trade
Mindset and Practices of Unsuccessful Traders:
I must be in the market now
If I lose on this trade I am a loser
If I wait for my trading rules I’ll miss out
If I get stopped out I have bad luck
I can’t lose money
The market makers got me again
I’m an idiot how could I lose money
What will they think when I tell them I lost money on this one?
The stock market is rigged
It’s impossible to get a good fill
I cannot take a loss
If I take my profit then I am right
Never define a loss
Locked into a narrow belief system
Hesitate to make a trade
Do not stick to a system
Trade by emotion
Have no consistent strategy
Do not practice risk management
More interested in proving themselves right then being a success
Bottom Line: Strive to put your trading/investing mindset into the first group of attitudes and eliminate thoughts/beliefs from the second group. Shake off your bad trades and learn from them. A bad trade/investment does not make you a bad person just as a winning trade does not make you infallible. Constantly keep improving both as a trader and a person.
Trade Well!
Price Headley
President of BigTrends.com
About the writer:nbsp;nbsp;Price Headley was inducted into the Traders’ Hall of Fame in 2007 and is the founder of BigTrends.com which provides investors with specific realtime stock and options strategies and investment education to profit from significant market trends.
Price appears regularly on CNBC Fox News and Bloomberg Television and in a variety of print and online financial news outlets including The Wall Street Journal Barron’s Forbes Investor’s Business Daily and USA Today. Price also speaks regularly to investment audiences nationwide.
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