Trading Educators Blog
Emotions are what drive the markets. The markets are not driven nearly as much by world events as by how people respond emotionally to those world events. The most important factor in increasing performance is emotional. Consumed by anger, fear, doubt, or hopelessness, you lock up inside and fall short of the mark again. What is possible for you remains tragically out of reach. Unless you experien...
I will never stop learning. This is my mantra and I will continue to practice it each and every day. Why? Because you never know where your next big opportunity may lie. Constantly learning will benefit you in many areas of your life. You'll uncover new investment opportunities, such as dividend stocks that are attractive for new money. Or, you can acquire new skills that open the door to bigger p...
If you're an eternal optimist, you hate bad news. But bad news is relative. What is bad news to some people is mere information, and possibly good news, to others. Some traders hate bad news, and do anything to avoid hearing it. It takes many forms, and at Trading Educators we have heard them all. Some traders keep losses on paper to avoid acknowledging them. Other traders avoid looking at perform...
Have you ever been stuck in a rut? All you can think about is how "behind" you are, and how hard it will be to come back. Maybe you're thinking "I haven't made enough winning trades. What am I going to do? I'll never make it back." It's natural to panic a little when you're first starting out as a trader. The anxiety and worry can get to you, but winning traders have a trick that you may find help...
If you want to be a successful trader, you must make sure you do not deny reality in any phase of your trading. You cannot deny losses, price direction, mistakes you make, being undercapitalized, or a whole host of things you would rather not think about. Many traders think the best way to deal with unpleasant ideas, events, or personal character flaws is to shut their eyes and pretend they don't ...
During trading, it's easy to think that no matter what you do, you won't make a profit. The markets can be brutal at times, and it's tempting to fall prey to a "victim mentality". However, such beliefs may paralyze you. It's more productive to believe that if you take control, you'll make a profit. Even if you have no real control, it helps: you take action, you plan, and think of some sort of str...
As you trade, do you ever just think, "It's all just random, why even bother trying at all?" If you passively think you have no control, you may end up making less money. A team of scientists studied a group of university students who played a computer game of roulette. All participants reported they had gambled recreationally in the past year. Researchers asked participants to describe the strat...
As a trader, it's very important that you keep accurate records of all factors that may impact the outcome of your trades so that you can learn from your losses, improve your performance, and do better next time. From a psychological viewpoint, by documenting actions, thoughts and emotions associated with both wins and losses, you will come to see what works and what doesn't. When it comes to loss...
The winning trader stays ahead of the crowd. In ever-changing market conditions, you have to think of new, innovative trading ideas. But it isn't always easy. There are times when you feel mentally stuck and unable to think creatively. When you are feeling a little stuck, there are specific steps you can take to get your creative juices flowing. Creativity can't be forced. If you try to force you...
As a trader, it's essential that you set specific goals. Trading is chaotic enough without trying to achieve unstructured goals that are difficult to manage and reach. Making profitable investments requires you to prepare carefully. You have to develop hypotheses regarding current market conditions. You have to devise ways of identifying setups and determine how and when to enter and exit the trad...
