In this blog post, I want to discuss the importance of sincere commitment and how it’ll make you stand out as a trader.
But let me start by giving you some tough love: You will never make it as a consistent trader if you don’t take the craft seriously.
Trading is a tough business where you are confronted with adversity on a continuous basis. Things frequently won’t turn out as you expect them to. You may follow your trading plan to a T, but you can never be sure if your efforts will pay off in the short term.
That’s just the name of the game, friends.
To prevent trading from becoming a burden, trading has to become like a game– a game that one wishes to play and get extremely good at.
Now, we all know that trading is not just a game, but treated as such, possibilities open up for a more fulfilling experience.
This simple shift in approach has the potential to completely transform your mindset –suddenly, you feel happy and willing to perform the tasks that are part of the game like following your rules, and doing whatever it takes to win it.
That’s because games usually bring us joy and pleasure. Not only that, but they also challenge us in a good way. For these reasons, people love to play games.
But as with any game, developing skills takes time. And the thing with trading is that few people are natural at it because this stuff runs counter to human nature.
Hence, it’s a particularly challenging game and you have to work really hard to get good at it. But once you do, over time you become an expert and that gives you the keys to financial freedom.
So, let me come back to the point I made at the beginning: you’ll never make it as a trader if you don’t take trading seriously.
You’ll need to dedicate 24h a day to become good at this game.
I kid you not.
I’m not saying that you have to stare at charts 24h a day, you have to work on your mental game 24h a day.
You must come to develop new beliefs, attitudes, and qualities of mind that are conducive to success in the market. You much teach your nervous system to relax when faced with adversity, and you must gain better control over your instinctual responses. And you must strive to strengthen those new mental patterns by practicing them in everything that you do – in the market and out of the market.
This can be done on both the psychological level and the physiological level.
On a psychological level, stop reacting to things blindly. You must constantly be thinking about improving your response to things that are out of your control. A shift from a negative outlook to a positive outlook is also entirely necessary.
Every circumstance you encounter in life is an opportunity to practice the very qualities of mind that are needed to thrive in trading.
For example,
– If someone yells at you, practice staying calm and composed.
– When something undesirable happens, if you’re the kind of person that’s quick to play the blame game, maybe step back, breathe, and gather some perspective.
– When you’re waiting in line at the grocery store, use this moment to practice patience.
– When you have to make a decision with an uncertain outcome, assess your probabilities; determine the risk and reward.
– If your wife or husband is getting on your nerves, instead of mindlessly saying and doing things that you will later regret, take a deep breath, connect with the present moment, and maybe go for a walk to defuse the situation.
On a physiological level, get better sleep. This helps you think better. Exercise more often –this will help you burn any excess energy and help with patience. Eat healthier –stop eating shitty food, this will help you function better overall.
Learn to meditate. Keep a journal. Those things help. Do a 5-10 minutes daily breathing exercise — this will improve your lung capacity and breathing. More oxygen intake brings more calm…
Over time, these little steps will make a big difference.
So you see, when I mean that you need to be dedicated 24h a day, 7 days a week, I really mean it!
I want to be very clear. This is not about making trading an unhealthy obsession; rather it’s about dedication to growth. It’s a lifestyle choice that produces excellence, not just in trading.
A trader’s greatest enemy will always be him/herself. That’s why curbing the tendency to self-sabotage is not a one-time job ―it’s an ongoing one.
The most important part of trading, I have argued many times before, is trading psychology… because believe it or not, successful trading has everything to do with your beliefs, values, and attitudes since those shape the way you feel and act in the market.
You are the operator, the man or woman behind the wheel, and your goal is to be the best version of yourself in the market, day in and day out. Hence my saying that this is a round-the-clock job. If you can do that, the results will blow your mind.
If you don’t take trading, and especially the mindset component, I might as well say it now: you’re dead meat. Your progress will eventually stall and you won’t survive long enough to be successful.
At heart, you must have a deep (deep!) desire to make it as a consistently profitable trader. A lot of people are going to overlook this; they’re going to discount this as unimportant. But control of your mind and worldview is absolutely massive to your success in this field.
And before I leave you, here’s an actionable piece of advice: write a note to yourself.
Ex.:
“I am [your name]. I am undertaking the task of becoming a proficient trader. And I will accomplish this within One year.” (Or any amount of time that’s both reasonable and workable for you.)
The aim here isn’t to say “I [your name] want XXX amount of money from trading.”
The get-rich-quick prospectors do that and it’s not an optimal way of approaching a field where uncertainty is the rule.
Instead, the better way is to really emphasize the skills you want to develop because skills lead to success.
This note must not be stored away in a box where nobody will see it. It must be placed in the most prominent place in your home. You must see this note constantly… you must become a better trader. Not by taking shortcuts but by understanding the game and being obsessed with playing it well.
By being so dedicated 24/7, you’ll be sending messages to your subconscious mind that you are on a path this and that is your life’s mission.
In due time, those who do this will see their trading psychology change. Your life will become more coordinated, your character will change, your attitudes more positive, and your presence more equanimous. And your trading performance will naturally begin to reflect that.
If you want help in understanding your mind and developing such intensity in purpose, then check out the Trading Composure Pack.
For a small investment, this might be the exact program you need.
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