To trade profitably involves many things and the important one is the ‘mindset’. The mindset of a successful person. You can’t find a profitable trader who doesn’t have that mindset. You need the mental strength to be on this journey without backtracking. This mental strength is not an inborn quality and it can be built with proper training as how you build your physique with regular exercises. It is important to keep both the perspective of your journey and the equity curve, not in a straight line. No success story was built without failures, speed bumps, or mountains to overcome. These failures and obstacles aren’t just part of every success story – they help to define them. Here are five tips to build the required mindset to be successful in the trade. It could be applied to success in life, too.
1 “I can be Successful
A mind engulfed with doubt and a lack of confidence will only make the situation worse. It lowers the spirit and affects the ability of the brain to judge. The resultant mind gripped with emotions makes it harder to succeed in trading. Making mistakes and incurring losses is a part of the trade and a trader is a person married to both wins and losses. There is no escape route. However, trading won’t kill you and you can get through all the obstacles you face. The attitude, ‘I Can Do This’ is the most required thing here. This will make you to sail through the rough tides. A successful mindset won’t lose track and always tries till it gets it right. Failures should not be the reasons to give up but are the opportunities to grow stronger. By resolving to find a way, all your intelligence, experience and resources should be directed to overcome your obstacles.
2. Persevere and Stay Committed To Your Goals
The success and change you want will not happen overnight. Having a committed mindset and perseverance is the crucial thing. You can’t lose 50 lbs. of weight overnight. Likewise you can’t become a millionaire overnight with trading and earning consistent profit is not an assured thing. It takes time, hard work and a focus on the process. Staying committed keeps your attention, focus, time and effort on the things that will bring you closer towards your goals. Never lose your perseverance in the midst of challenges, losses and mountains to climb in trading. By staying committed to your goals, you will eventually find a way to overcome the challenges.
3. Stop Worrying About Past Losses/Mistakes
This one is tough because we are biologically wired to feel pain and losses more than gains. With the survival instinct, we usually place more emphasis in avoiding threats than on maximizing opportunities. But to attain your goal, you should just not survive, you have to thrive. Mentally strong people do not waste much time by dwelling on the past or by trying to get back the losses. Don’t dwell on something you did in the past and utilize every second for the rest of your life. There is all possibility for you to become the wealthiest person in the world and the inability to change yourself from the present condition is not a wise thing. There is no need to worry about the loss or a bad trade. Acknowledge your mistake, learn what to do differently, and move forward. This is how you protect your mental capital.
4. Patience Is Not About Waiting
As most of us think, patience is not waiting passively and expecting something to happen itself. Patience is an active process where you consistently do small things with certain expectations towards a big result. While one result may take a lot of little actions to get there, by doing that you are actively moving forward and you are working on your growth. Being patient means working hard each day with the belief you have in those small steps. Many times, it will be hard to see your progress. You have to face the flattened equity curve and the results you expect may not be there. But that does not mean progress isn’t happening. Your advancement is very much possible. The space shuttle needs a lot of force and propulsion before it starts to climb. Oftentimes your trading process will be the same. Keep your focus on the process and gain the momentum. It is where the fuel & propulsion to your success lies.
5. ‘A Smooth Sea Never Made a Skillful Sailor’
Obstacles, pain & challenges come in two types: 1) Those that hurt or stop you and 2) those that change you (for the better). Learning from them brings change, growth, and confidence. A sailor will never become highly skilled by taking on easy voyages. The best learns from the rough waters he has to traverse. Trading is no different from sailing. To be a successful trader, you have to overcome the obstacles to reach the other shore. Strength and confidence don’t come from the things you do with ease. Overcoming is the currency of confidence.