Forex Trader Beliefs: How to Transform Your Thinking

If you're consistently profitable at the high levels you really want, skip on to something else.  You don't have a problem this article will shine a light on.

If you are not consistently profitable, then read on to discover the key differences in thinking between AMATEUR Forex traders and the PROFESSIONALS.  But most importantly, you'll gain insight in how you can transform your trading by modelling your trading on the winning minority.

The 5 Telltale Signs:

• Amateur Forex Trader Beliefs #1: "Trading is easy money"
• Amateur Forex Trader Beliefs #2: "I need to be in the market all the time"
• Amateur Forex Trader Beliefs #3: "I don't need a plan"
• Amateur Forex Trader Beliefs #4:  "I need to know everything"
• Amateur Forex Trader Beliefs #5:  "It's not my fault - it's the market!"

"Trading is easy money"

The AMATEUR is hell bent on making a fast buck with an insatiable appetite to make as much as they can in the least amount of time possible. As far as their forex trader beliefs go - you can forget it! Often in search of "The Holy Grail", they approach the markets with expectations sky-high of plundering untold riches from simply clicking a few buttons. They will only have a cursory glance to candlestick patterns. They have a huge emotional attachment to the financial end result of the trade, over and above the management and exit of the trade in progress. They also have very unreal expectations as to what is achievable on a consistent basis as a "successful trader".

The seasoned PROFESSIONAL embraces the long game, accepting that smaller but consistent percentage gains on their capital over time is far more desirable than the boom and bust scenario of the rookie in search of the quick buck.

They embrace the long game, measuring their success in percentage gain rather than in monetary value, or by counting the number of pips they have made.  They look on at the cannon fodder in the markets as the amateur traders blow up their accounts in spectacular fashion. Many experienced professional traders though, would have been there too at some point in their careers.

"I need to be in the market the whole time"

They  believe more trades over a shorter amount of time will mean making more money. They are fearful of missing out. This fear simply serves as a false economy.  They expose themselves to the noise and news spikes without necessarily exposing themselves to a well thought out technical trade set-up. They embrace the prospect of sitting out of the market,  much as they would if they had a trade running. As far as their forex trader beliefs go, they view times of staying out of the market as an opportunity to preserve their capital (the first objective for any trader worth their salt, and especially The Lazy Trader).

They also view times of being in a trade as being in the flow of opportunity of a potential gain - where the probabilities of them winning are stacked in their favour.  This is the world of The Lazy Trader.

To the PROFESSIONAL Less is More and more is less

"I don't need a plan"

The AMATEUR trader blindly jumps into the market without a plan - or even thinking twice. It is likely that successes (or imagined successes) in other parts of their life perpetuate an ego complex that cause them to go into the market blind and heedless. They conveniently forget that only 8% of traders regularly make money. Even though an initial flash in the pan win may spur them on to raise the stakes in their gambling crusade, this is likely short lived. Without a plan, strategy (or even a vague idea of what they are looking out for), the odds will be well and truly stacked against them.

PROFESSIONALS rigidly plan the trade and trade the plan.

They have a very specific trading strategy which is set in stone.  All possible outcomes are assessed before the trade is entered and managed. Their plan consists of risk parameters, what specific price-action set-up needs to manifest itself before they even look twice, and the timeframe they will trade.

"I need to know everything"

The AMATEUR forex trader rationalises with themselves that the more they learn about how markets work, they better their trading will become. This is simply not the case. While there is no substitute for experience in trading even the most simple of strategies over time, the amateur often makes their life unnecessarily complicated by learning about topics which will serve them intellectually rather than practically. This may impress those who like to talk the talk but it has almost no bearing on helping them walk the walk! Their desire to know everything about everything  ironically clouds their judgement when it comes to trading, hence the huge number of amateur traders who fall into a state of analysis paralysis.

The PROFESSIONAL trader has the benefit of "time in the saddle"

They also know that focusing on their strategy of choice (one which resonates with their personality and availability) will serve them in good stead long term. They are clear about the mine fields they traverse in subscribing to market commentary or rhetoric.

They keep things as simple as possible, embracing the "less is more" mantra. And they refrain from asking themselves: "if less is more, how much more will more be?" They have a crystalline view of the market and how their strategy fits within it.

"It's not my fault - it's the market!"

The AMATEUR Forex  trader lives in an interesting world.  Any money they make through blind faith feeds the amateur's ego from the get go.  But if they lose money, then they inevitably consider it to be the fault of someone or something or else - usually the market. Yes, they will blame the market! They'll also likely blame the broker, their internet connection and the cat too...anything but them! A failure to take responsibility for their own actions in the market and treat trading as a business consistently costs them dearly.

 The PROFESSIONAL trader - WITHOUT FAIL - takes full responsibility for their own actions.

They accept that whatever the market does. They see clearly that the market will always be "right" in giving the optimal price at which buyers will buy and sellers will sell. Treating their trading account like a business keeps them accountable, rigidly following their plan, treating every trading decision as unequivocally a business decision.

Conclusion

"To create is effort, to copy is genius", the adage goes. Does it really make sense to reinvent the wheel when it comes to trading? Why not simply model the attributes of those experienced, PROFESSIONAL traders.  They're the ones  who are doing it well, and most importantly, showing consistently successful trading results.

They are:

• In it for the long game instead of the myth of one-click results
• Selective in their trades, not fearful of "missing out"
• Committed to their strategy (plan the trade and trade the plan, joining the rare 8% of successful traders
• Crystal clear in their view of the market, unfettered by news, noise and chatter

Take total responsibility for their decisions, like the CEO of myaccount.com.

Wouldn't you like to trade in your AMATEUR status and join the PROFESSIONAL traders?