Many traders ride an emotional roller coaster and miss the essential element of winning: the management of their emotions.
The goal of a successful trader is to make the best trades. Money is secondary.
Beginners focus on analysis, but professionals operate in a three dimensional space. They are aware of trading psychology, their own feelings, and the mass psychology of the markets.
Amateurs look for challenges; professionals look for easy trades. Losers get high from the action; the pros look for the best odds.
The market does not know you exist. You can do nothing to influence it. You can only control your behavior.
To be a good trader, you need to trade with your eyes open, recognize real trends and turns, and not waste time or energy on regrets and wishful thinking.
When a beginner wins, he feels brilliant and invincible. Then, he takes wild risk and loses everything.
Remember, your goal is to trade well, not to trade often.
Every winner needs to master three essential components of trading; a sound individual psychology, a logical trading system and good money management. These essentials are like three legs of a stool – remove one and the stool will fall, together with the person who sits on it.
Losers bring money into the market which is necessary for the prosperity of the trading industry.
Traders lose because the game is hard, or out of ignorance, or lack of discipline or because of both.
The markets are unforgiving, and emotional trading always results in losses.