Trading Psychology: Trading Mindset Mastery

By AJ

What makes top traders stand out from the crowd and achieve results that for the most are just behind imagination?

The key to success is being mentally tough

What does it take to be mentally tough? There are three qualities for traders who say they want to perform at the highest levels.

• Be Ambitious

Can you work on your trading alone or you need to be constantly spend time on Social Media, watching Blue Channels, watching World maret ? Can you find ways to make your daily and weekly trading preparation regardless of family, friends or other potential interruption?

Usually traders that can work and prepare themselves alone tend to have higher levels of mental toughness and are way more ambitious.

• Discipline is key to success

Do you work on your mental and psychological weakness to pursue those goals? Do you write your Journal and write your mistakes. Do you work on them and make sure it does not get repeated again. DO you know when to STOP trading.

If you don’t really believe that you can improve, it is difficult that you can really grow as a trader.

• Perseverance and Patience

Are you willing to trade, train and struggle with markers for all of your life? Are you looking for immediate success, or you can postpone it until the time is right, even if that is years in the future?

Successful traders are nimble and determined to improve for all their life, no matter how rich they become. Traders need the patience to work steadily during tough times, drawdowns and family issues.

• Guard your thoughts.

The reason why it’s called mental toughness is because what you think determines how you act. If you want to become more mentally tough, you have to become tough about what you think. Certain thoughts should never be in your head. Replace weak thoughts like, “I can’t, I’m tired, I’m bored, “ with strong thoughts. An athlete training for basketball season didn’t like to run. The first time around the track for a conditioning run left her feeling exhausted. Her mentor asked what she was thinking as she ran around the track. “I hate running. This is awful. I want to stop.” She admitted. The next time around the track, her mentor asked her to change what she said in her head to, “I love to run, my body is strong, I feel great.” The second time around she ended with a huge smile. She said, “I had no idea how big a difference what I thought made on what I do and how I feel. Even though I didn’t think it would work, it did. I felt great .”

As a Trader You can use  simple sentence like below:

• “I follow my trading rules.”
• “I take every valid entry.”
• “I stay with my winning trades.”
• “I cut my losses right on time.”
• “I act on time right on time.”
• “I apply my methods to the market.”
• “I want what the market wants.”
• “I can handle anything that comes up.”

Mental toughness is maybe the area of trading where the nurturing part of the success equation is most evident.  Some traders have internalized these qualities from the very beginning of their adult life and come to trading already mentally fitted. Others have not. For the latest trading can be a double challenge that starts with improving their mindset first and their technical trading skills later.

Perhaps the best thing you should do to improve your mental toughness is to work as much on psychology preparation as you do with market preparation. And, yes, it takes double time and double effort!