Trading – what do we know about it? Well, one thing that we see often around the Internet is the fact that about 80% to 90% of (day) traders fail, at least in the first year. This means that only 10-20% win consistently and, naturally, don’t lose as much as beginners or as those having the wrong mindset.
You heard that right. Being a winning trader means more than just having the capital to invest in all kinds of trades, including stocks, crypto, and so on. At the same time, it also implies more than just knowledge about the markets and the trading world.
A professional trader can know everything there is about indices, movements, trading options, etc. – but they will still lose if they have the wrong mindset. Without any further ado, here are ten of the steps that you have to follow to develop a winning trader’s mindset for yourself!
10 Steps To Developing a Winning Trader’s Mindset
1. Be Patient When Trading
If you rush, you’re only heading towards a certain demise. Even with enough knowledge about trading, you should never rush a trade or a day of trading. That’s not how you become an expert, senior, or executive trader.
The ultimate trader will always trade their last deal just like their first; with enough patience and constantly being aware of the possibility of losing. Regardless of their portfolio and capital, winning traders are always patient when trading.
2. Learn to Control Your Trades
Once you make a trade, you don’t have to wait until you either win or lose. This is what most people get wrong about trading – they think trades can’t be controlled once you make them. Naturally, this is where risk management comes into play.
Even if you notice that a trade is on its way to a loss, there are still plenty of things that you can do. For instance, you can get out of it and thus minimize your losses.
This is what it means to control your trades; never let them take their full course if you’re uncomfortable with what you see.
3. Creating and Sticking to Trading Plans
Doing anything without a clear plan, even if you have it only in your mind, can bear serious consequences for your projects. After all, it’s much easier to lose everything you have gathered when you don’t have a clue what your next step is going to be.
Even if a trading plan will delay your first trading experiences, it’s better to come prepared to the field of this battle. Also, keep in mind that the plan must be adapted to your strategy at all times – so be ready to adjust it!
4. Focus – Focus – Focus!
You might be a couple of months into trading and have already made some trades, but this is one of those things that you don’t want to forget! Namely, the fact that you have to focus constantly.
Traders have to keep in mind that, even if they use the best global forex brokers out there, they’re still not safe from failure. They must acknowledge the fact that their own money is on the line and that a loss can mean everything.
5. Consider the 2% Mark
A trader’s main purpose is to build their portfolio to wealth and riches, ultimately. As a result, it makes no sense to invest 10% or more of your entire portfolio in a single trade. After all, it’s not like 10 trades, implying your entire capital, will bring you billions.
This is why professional traders usually consider the 2% mark as the mark that you shouldn’t go above when starting a trade. In short, invest a maximum of 2% of your portfolio per trade.
6. Keep Your Eye on the News
Social media might very well end up being your friend when trading. However, it can’t compare with blogs and online journals that talk about trading and the latest movements of the markets.
Ultimately, half of the time that you spend in the trading world will be spent reading the news and getting informed – basically, planning your next move and investment.
7. Learn to Win and Lose
As mentioned above, winning, and losing is a part of a trader’s life. At the same time, even someone known as a winning trader has accustomed themselves to the losing part of this, so-called, job.
In the end, the takeaway would be that no matter how professional you are when it comes to trading, you have to also learn that winning and losing are a part of it, in equal percentages (more or less).
8. Don’t Trade Under Pressure
If you get a tip saying to invest in a certain stock in the next minutes for guaranteed profit, the majority of traders would just go for it.
The winning trader, on the other hand, will rarely act based on tips and, most importantly, will never trade unless they feel it’s the right moment to do so.
9. Start Small – Scale Later
For instance, if you start to trade currency, it’s recommended to learn one currency at first and then expand into using the others. The same applies to crypto and stocks, to name a few.
Don’t try to get into everything at once – rather start with low-value trading instruments and scale in accordance with the size of your portfolio.
10. Mistakes are Not the End of Your Career
Beginner traders usually quit trading after their first big loss. Naturally, that’s not the mentality of a winner. The first big loss is only the first step towards countless future wins – but you have to know how to treat this loss/mistake.
For traders, mistakes represent each loss in their trading portfolio. Better said, every prediction that doesn’t come true is a mistake for them. But this shouldn’t stop them from achieving their goals.
The Bottom Line
These were ten of the steps that you have to follow to develop a winning mindset as a trader. Most of these steps are not easy to follow, as they contradict some of the things that make us human.
For example, you won’t hear many people saying that, in their career, winning and losing are experienced in equal percentages. And this is what makes trading (and having a winning mindset) exciting!
Read Also:
- Why Gold is Considered A Safe Haven Asset For Forex Traders?
- 5 Essential Things of the Trading Journal
- The Ins And Outs Of Small-Cap Trading
Author: Tiberiu
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