Persistence is Needed in Trading

​Trading is a profession where dare not give up in the face of adversity. You must go into the trading day expecting to have losses.

It's not the most optimistic outlook, right? Trading in today's markets isn't like trading in the steadily upward trending markets in the days before the advent of a PC that could let you see charts. In the days when markets trended as opposed to swinging, just about anyone expected to strike it rich by just riding the trend.

Today's markets require more persistence in the face of adversity. No longer can you say: "The trend is your friend." These days its: "The swing is the thing." To make regular profits, you've got to regularly take some risks. And taking risks means you must be ready to face some losses. Even when you control your risk on a given trade (which we strongly advise), you are bound to face loss after loss and watch your account balance diminish. As much as you objectify the loss, and see it as merely percentage points, there's still part of you that experiences the loss and feels the pain. At these times, it's hard to keep going; it's easy to fall victim to the "why bother" attitude. You may feel you might as well give up. It is at these times, though, when you must be the most persistent. You must believe that you can master the markets and recover from the slump. There's a right way to go about this and a wrong way to go about this, however. Persistence is a complex issue and an understanding of it will help you approach a setback with the proper mindset.