It is interesting how having control of something increases our confidence. When we feel that we do not have control over the market our confidence is lessened. The big mistake is in trying to feel that we can control the market. The best way to get rid of the market control feeling is to get a little advantage. The best way to get the advantage is to use a trading system you feel comfortable with and know how to use it.
You enter when you get a signal and you exit when you get a signal. You don’t have to second guess or think about it. You have already thought about how to spot the signals and how many lots you will trade. You have your trading plan worked out with the rules you will follow. All of this should be thought out before you start to trade live. If you have not done this then you are falling into the group most people fall into which is losing traders. Thomas Edison said it this way “There is no expedient to which the average person will not go to avoid the hard labor of thinking†Peter Drucker the management expert said “Action without thinking is the cause of every failureâ€. So this statement could also mean thinking before action is the cause of every success.
By having thought out why, when, and how, you are going to trade, you can put the advantage in your favor. New traders need to slow down, think things trough, before they start to trade with real money. In our conversation with traders, we find that the newer traders are all about action…opening and closing trades. Where the more seasoned traders are about thinking and planning. They have developed a little more patience. If a trader does not slow down and think then they never stay around long enough to become a seasoned trader.
Thinking, studying, and practicing are all part of trading in control. So dust off the old thinker and go to work. Trading is not about how smart you are it is about following some rules. If you have average intelligence and work hard (that is THINK) then you may have a shot at being a successful trader who is in control of his future.
