Every time when a conversation or discussion about stock market is summarized the questions of buying and selling still becomes the secondary aspect. One the prime motto is tied to the ‘Investment Psychology’, and only then ‘Risk Management’ follows.
It may seem a bit illogical at first, but to truly be in control of your trading and your trading mindset, one must first learn to lose the need to time the market. Traders often try to control the market and they aren’t even aware they are doing it.
So, if you are trying to, not only are you probably paralysing money, you’re probably extremely frustrated and desperate in regards to your trading.
Therefore, is such a case it would be wise enough to focus our energies on the aspects that can be controlled. Participating is market is like standing on the battlefield. You may have all the latest updated equipment’s, weapons and you may the master of strategies and martial arts, but ultimately there are aspects about your opponent you can never control.
As traders, we ‘fight’ on a financial battlefield with many different opponents, and the best chance we have at success is preparing a good attack-plan, preparing a good defence, and having contingencies in place.
We do our best to prepare and navigate the market’s battleground, but we cannot control everything, we can only control ourselves, what we do and don’t do, and how we handle each circumstance and situation.
Self -discipline is the distinguishing factor for a trader’s success. By working on ourselves, we can learn, adapt and evolve, but first we need to let go of the older version, and accept the fact on with what we can’t control.
For most traders, fall in an endless loop of self-inflected misery, frustration, sleepless nights until they realize this same truth. For some it takes as long as a decade to get liberated from this loop, it’s totally gut wrenching!
Where am I considering the holistic market?
There are millions unthinkable variables affecting a market directly or indirectly at any very moment. From crude to dollar to coronavirus and its vaccine news releases, economic activities to all the different traders and their opinions and feelings on the market, there is just no way any human could possibly “control” or even collect and comprehend that amount of data.
The only way we have to truly make sense of it is to learn to diligently analyse the price action or take help the highly intuitive AI specially prepared for this purpose ‘Jarvis’.
You need to realize that you are simply a single participant in an enormous milky way of competitors / enemies on the ‘battlefield’…all of whom are trying to take home the prize (i.e. money) from the market. The market, as well as the other competitors in it, cannot be controlled, they don’t know you, they don’t care about you and it’s futile to try and control it / them.
Our one single goal and mission is to successfully execute our plan and execute our trading edge with as much discipline as possible with risk management in the process.
Remember: If you think this is too much for you. Jarvis can handle everything on your behalf, you just have to connect with us for further information.
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If you want to avoid this naturally temptation of trying to control the market, you need to become a “trade planner” and not just a “trader”.
If you’re losing money overall repeatedly, it’s likely because you’re trying to control the market. Traders who are profitable are definitely only in control of themselves and have long ago given up trying to control the market.
Next, you have to make some type of plan when you’re not good with charts and not in a live trade. This is so that you have a routine and a plan that you will follow which will remind you to stay disciplined and in control of yourself.
Every trader needs to do this at least in the beginning or if they are losing a lot, because the market is like an untamed wilderness of constant temptation that will lull you to sleep and steal all your money if you aren’t paying attention.
And hence, “If you Fail to Plan you are actually Planning to Fail”.
4 Prime things well under control:
- Entry and Exit
- Risk Management
- State of Mind
- Business Plan
When and How will I know that I have mastered the art of self-control?
The next point might be surprising but trust me it’s the easiest and quickest way of understanding.
Achieving self-control is to simply to set and forget your trades! It’s simple in theory, but in practice, it can prove quite difficult because it truly is the definition of self-discipline and self-control.
Can you set a trade up and then close your computer and walk away for a week?
If you can, you’re probably going to succeed long-term, if you can’t, then I’d bet money you won’t succeed. Try it for a few trades and see how it goes.
When we talk about “controlling yourself vs controlling market” we are really getting into the core issue of why only 1% of traders are successful. This is an ideal platform to ultimately test of one’s ability to follow a plan and ignore temptation. Well, according to me it’s a level above because there’s no boss and no one to stay accountable for.
In other words, all boils down to is You vs. You, so you have to decide which version of you will win?
The out-of-control animalistic version who cares only about temporary illusions of being in control or the calm and collected version that cares only about the long-term outcome and playing the “game” in such a way that ensures that outcome is positive?
You have to figure this out sooner rather than later because you certainly don’t want to just bleed money into the market over and over.
Just keep one thing engraved in your mind that the more you focus on yourself and on controlling yourself, the more you will see your trading performance improve.