Category: Traders mindset

How To Become A Morning Person

There are lots of skills you’ll need to develop when first embarking on your career as a forex trader and you are likely to find that you’ll need to make quite a few lifestyle changes at the very beginning if you’re to drive serious success your way.

 

Working on your analytical skills is a must, of course, as is developing patience, mental resilience and emotional fortitude, anger management, motivation, determination, focus, discipline… the list goes on and on, and you’ll also likely find that the list grows the more you trade.

 

New and inexperienced traders learn a huge amount about themselves while trading and being able to identify your weaknesses and vulnerable areas, in terms of both your personality and your lifestyle, is important so you know where to focus your attention first. 

 

It may well be the case that you need to make a few significant changes here and there if you are to enjoy a lucrative career and make it big as a professional trader – so don’t be shy about asking yourself the difficult questions and being strong enough to enact meaningful and long-lasting change.

 

When it comes to success, whether that’s as a trader or in some other profession, there’s something that all leaders in their chosen fields seem to have in common… and that’s getting up very early in the morning.

 

The old adage that the early bird catches the worm certainly does seem to ring true and there’s a growing body of research backing this tidy little cliche up.

 

It seems that being an early riser is associated with all sorts of positive behavioural traits, everything from being more proactive and more productive to being calmer, more relaxed and healthier overall in general… all of which will really help you on your quest to become one of the top traders in the world.

 

Interestingly, many of the very best investors out there think the best time to trade is between 8am and midday, because this is when the London and New York exchanges overlap and these are generally the busiest markets for forex trades.

 

This means that you’ll have to get up pretty early if you’re going to take full advantage of the most lucrative trading times and get ahead of the competition. You probably won’t see the success you’re looking for if you roll out of bed at 07:59. 

 

Winning trades often comes down to state of mind and mental acuity, so getting out of bed far earlier and being proactive with your morning before you even think about trading will likely stand you in excellent stead in your trading career.

 

So, with that in mind, here are a few strategies you could consider trying out if you are keen to get out of bed at the crack of dawn (or even before that!) without much trouble at all. Which of these will you put into practice first?

 

Change your inner dialogue

 

If you’ve been a night owl for a long time, it can be very difficult to change your habits and your way of thinking… and it’s likely that you will find it hard to alter your routine at first. 

 

A good place to begin is with changing how you talk to yourself and switching your internal dialogue around so that you’re not constantly reaffirming your preference for night-time hours to yourself. Instead of saying to yourself that you’re not a morning person, why not try telling yourself that you’re becoming a morning person?

 

This may sound like it’s too simple to be effective, but mind over matter can be very powerful and you may well find that by changing your thinking and your inner monologue, you find it easier to enact changes externally as well.

 

Build incrementally

 

Your system will probably struggle a little if you suddenly start trying to wake up at 5am without giving it any warning. Build it up bit by bit so you can acclimatise yourself to your new schedule gradually, giving yourself more time to get used to the new way of working and maximising your chances of actually being able to stick to it.

 

Be consistent with your routine

 

Having a set bedtime and waking up time will make all the difference to how you feel when it is time for you to get up. Shifting your sleep patterns isn’t easy but the first step towards making real inroads in this regard is to maintain the same sleep and wake up times for prolonged periods. 

 

Setting an alarm is very useful, of course, but what you’ll likely find is that after a couple of weeks your body wakes you up naturally a few minutes before you’re due to get up… and this is a surefire sign that you’re on the right track.

 

Have a morning routine

 

Routine is so important and there are all sorts of benefits associated with it, everything from better sleep and less anxiety to less stress and better mental health overall. Coming up with your own morning routine can help ease yourself into the day and it’s all about finding out what works for you.

 

This could be anything from washing your face immediately to making a coffee and hitting the gym, or going for a run first thing. Meditation could be another option, while other traders may want to start with some journaling to get them into the swing of it all before they switch the laptop on.

 

The key to building up a successful routine, no matter what it is, is to make sure that it’s sustainable and something you enjoy, perhaps even something you look forward to. Then you’ll have no problems leaping out of bed, ready to attack the day!

 

Get ready for bed

 

Getting ready for bed helps your body get ready for sleep… and this will increase the quality of rest you get, which will help you wake up in the morning more readily. 

 

Again, your routine will largely depend on who you are as an individual and what you like to do, but it could include drinking a hot beverage and winding down with a book, putting on pyjamas, practising self-care by washing your face and moisturising, staying off your phone and other devices for at least two hours before bed and so on.

 

Setting boundaries can also be very useful as you don’t want your mind to bounce back to alertness, so perhaps consider putting your phone on Do Not Disturb after 9pm so that you don’t receive any phone calls, texts or other notifications.

 

Get morning sun

 

Natural light is incredibly good for us and light exposure can really help you in your quest to become a morning person. Whenever possible, head outside early in the morning and soak up those rays, whether that’s by going for a little stroll with the dog or simply taking your morning cup of coffee outside with bare feet to practise grounding.

 

Getting a hit of vitamin D early on can help you fight fatigue and boost your mental health, as well as easing any feelings of anxiety and depression you may be experiencing and even helping to improve your sleep patterns and sleep quality.

 

From a science perspective, morning light has both infrared and blue light wavelengths, which means there is no UV light when you step out first thing in the morning. Think of yourself as a battery and the morning sun as the charger… you can give yourself a big energy surge if you get out and about early in the morning.

What’s more, research suggests that getting rays early in the morning can actually help protect you against UVA and UVB rays later in the day, helping to fortify your skin against potential sun damage… so it’s a real win-win!

 

Give grounding a go

 

While you’re out enjoying your morning sun, why don’t you give grounding a try to see if that helps you feel more alert in the early hours? Also known as earthing, the practice involves kicking off your shoes and socks and touching the ground with your feet, something that many believe can have all sorts of positive benefits for the mind, body and soul.

 

In terms of health, a growing body of research suggests that grounding can help you sleep better, feel less stressed, improve your mood, reduce feelings of depression, boost your heart health, improve circulation… and a whole lot more besides!

 

What’s great about it is that it can be done wherever you are and you don’t need any specialist equipment to start reaping the benefits. So the next time you’re up early and have a spare 20 minutes, why not give it a go and see if it could make a difference to how you’re feeling at the crack of dawn?

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Why Self-Discipline Is Essential For Forex Traders

Forex trading demands a whole range of skills, from technical analysis to market knowledge and emotional maturity. However, to all this the successful trader needs to add another essential ingredient to make it all work together: discipline. Here’s a closer look at what discipline means in the context of forex trading and how you can develop or improve it.

What does discipline mean in forex trading?

The Collins Dictionary defines discipline as “the quality of being able to behave and work in a controlled way which involves obeying particular rules or standards.” In forex trading, this means being able to develop and stick to your trading strategy, always following your risk management plan, and maintaining an objective viewpoint at all times. 

It may also encompass other factors, such as keeping your learning and market knowledge fresh and current, furthering your technical knowledge, and being able to stick to a daily trading routine. 

Why is discipline considered to be so important in forex trading?

Successful forex trading requires above all a structured approach, so that all your trading decisions are based on the current market conditions, and are aligned with your personal trading strategy and goals. A casual or haphazard approach to trading means that sooner or later you are going to make mistakes that could lead to heavy losses.

Trading requires you to make quick decisions under pressure, and when the stakes are high it takes effort to overcome powerful emotions such as fear, anxiety, and greed. Experienced traders work hard to manage their emotions, and learn not to be swayed too heavily by the prospect of failure or success.

How do you develop discipline as a forex trader?

Self-discipline can be practised by anyone, no matter what their personality type is. It is not an innate trait we are born with, but it is something that can be learnt. Like a muscle, the more we work at it, the stronger it gets. 

At the beginning of your trading career, you will make mistakes and experience a few lows, but the right mental attitude will carry you through to more long-term success. Here are some points that will help you to develop and maintain the right mindset.

Set clear achievable goals

It can be easy to become overwhelmed by the prospect of learning how to be a successful forex trader, and this can lead to a sense of paralysis. Instead of getting bogged down in detail, set yourself a series of clear and realistic goals to work towards. 

Avoid setting numerical targets, such as needing to make a certain amount of profit each month. If you have given up your day job and intend to make your living as a forex trader, you may expect to earn a fixed amount of money each month to replace your salary.

 However, there is no such thing as a steady income in forex trading, and even the best traders will make a variable monthly amount. Chasing numerical targets can lead to poor trading decisions, and is unlikely to yield the best results. Profits are the byproduct of a disciplined trading system, and not a goal to be single mindedly pursued. 

Instead, use the following methods to keep you on the right track.

Set out your trading strategy

A well defined trading strategy is the key to successful forex trading. This should include which signals you will use to enter and exit the market, what your maximum number of trades per day or week will be, and what hours you will be trading each day. You should also decide if you prefer short term trading or long term trading.

Work out your risk tolerance

It is absolutely essential to know how much you can realistically afford to lose on each trade before you begin trading. This may depend on how comfortable you are with risk and how much capital you have at your disposal. You should never expose yourself to damaging losses that would compromise your ability to pay for life’s essentials.

Use a stop loss

Stop losses are a tool that enables you to automatically exit a trade at a specified point below the entry price. They can act as a buffer against volatile and unpredictable market conditions, so if the price action suddenly swings against your expectations, you will be protected from uncontrolled losses.  

This can help to guard against the natural human tendency to hang onto a losing trade in the hope that the situation will turn around, rather than to cut your losses and run. If you think that you have enough presence of mind to decide for yourself when to exit a trade, remember that almost all professional traders use stop losses.

When we are faced with a difficult decision under pressure, most of us will subconsciously follow some kind of cognitive bias. Assuming that you are immune to such human frailties will only put you in a weaker position, because like it or not, all humans experience powerful  emotions and denying them can be dangerous in forex trading. 

When faced with the prospect of making a bigger profit or trying to avoid a loss, even the most stoical of personalities will have a natural tendency to either reach for more or hedge against a losing position. This is a primal evolutionary instinct leftover from the times when it literally meant the difference between starving or surviving. 

A predetermined exit strategy such as a stop loss is based on objective and rational information only, which is ultimately what forex traders should be aiming for at all times. This brings us nicely onto the next point…

Understand forex trading psychology

A major part of your discipline as a forex trader is learning to manage your emotions. As we have already discussed, letting your emotions bias your trading decisions can be potentially disastrous. Some people hold the belief that admitting to their feelings is a weakness, but in fact it can put you in a much more empowering position, in life as well as in forex trading. 

No one is immune to psychological bias, and being able to recognise them in your own thought and behaviour patterns is key to avoiding the trading pitfalls that they can open up. Here are some of the most common biases in forex trading.

Overconfidence bias

This is a very common bias in novice traders who have experienced their first flush of success. After all the hard work of learning the ropes and feeling like a newbie who doesn’t quite know what they are doing, a string of profitable trades can be a huge ego boost. 

There is nothing wrong with taking some time to enjoy your success; after all, if we didn’t allow ourselves to enjoy the fruits of our labour, it would be rather miserable and demotivating. Taking some time to work out what you did right is also important, because it strengthens your trading strategy. 

However, some traders are prone to become too intoxicated by their success, and assume that every future decision will be right. This can lead to a relaxing of discipline and poor trading decisions will be the result. No matter how well you have done, do not be tempted to ease up on the rigours of daily market analysis and strict risk management.

Loss aversion bias

The flip side of overconfidence bias is loss aversion bias. This is when a trader is too conscious of the prospect of loss, and this hampers the ability to pursue profits. For many people, the fear of losing overrides the instinct to make gains, and it can lead to overcautious decisions. 

Forex trading is all about learning to take managed risks, based on daily market research and analysis. It does not pay to be either too cautious or too confident, but to learn how to put your emotions or biases to one side and make objective decisions at every stage.

Keep a regular trading journal

This is one of the most repeated pieces of advice to new forex traders, but it really is one of the most effective tools you can use to develop and improve your trading skills. It does take some discipline to add yet another task onto your daily checklist, especially when you may not notice the immediate benefit. 

By recording what trades you have made and when, and the reasons why you made them, plus any other thoughts or observations you may have at the time, you will have a brilliant resource to refer to in the future. It can help you identify patterns of success, or pinpoint what went wrong if you have a run of poor trades, leading to a stronger strategy going forward.

Guard against your comfort zone

Once you have found your feet in the world of forex trading, and are starting to build up a record of steady profits, it can be tempting to take your foot off the gas for a little while. Be on your guard against settling into a comfort zone, and always push yourself to remain open to new opportunities.

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4 Breathing Techniques To Help You Deal With Stress

As rewarding as trading can be, there’s also no denying that it can be incredibly stressful, particularly when you first start out with forex, as there’s so much to learn, so much to take in and so much to get to grips with.

It’s entirely understandable if you feel your blood pressure start to rise when you first start trading currency pairs, but it’s essential that you give yourself all the tools and resources you need to help you keep your emotions under control.

As we’ve said before (and as we’ll no doubt say again), emotional management is one of the top skills you’ll need to develop as a trader. Emotional trading is always ill-advised, whether you’re feeling stressed, anxious, sad, happy, angry or something else. 

You need to make your decisions when you’re level-headed and thinking clearly, so you know you’re acting rationally and aren’t being swayed in one direction or another by some underlying urge. Succeed in this endeavour and you’ll likely see more consistent wins over time. Fail and you’ll likely start to see your profits take a hit.

But how do you go about regulating your emotions and how do you stop them from taking charge?

As with anything, it all comes down to practice and making sure that you have all you need at your disposal to help you take a step back, calm down and remain in control, no matter what happens on the trading floor.

To that end, you will likely find that focusing on your breathing can help you centre your mind, calm your nervous system and keep you on the straight and narrow. Here are just a couple of breathing techniques you could try that may well stand you in excellent stead throughout your trading career.

Nasal breathing

Breathing deeply in and out through the nose is an incredibly effective way of reducing feelings of anxiety and you can practise it at any time, no matter what you’re doing, so you’re sure to become an expert at it in no time at all.

Nasal breathing is a more relaxed way of getting the breath you need, helping to lower your blood pressure and keep your heart rate in check, so it could yield all sorts of positive effects for traders, both novice and experienced alike.

It can help stimulate your parasympathetic nervous system, instead of your fight or flight responses, so it keeps you calm even when you’re faced with seriously stressful circumstances… again, essential for traders of all kinds and at all levels.

Of course, we tend to breathe without thinking about it, so you may be breathing through your mouth without even knowing about it. 

The first step to switching to nasal breathing is to become more aware of your breathing patterns, looking out for if your mouth drops open naturally, if your nostrils are regularly blocked and if you wake up regularly with a blocked nose and a dry mouth.

Looking for an exercise to try? What about practising alternate nostril breathing, where you inhale through one nostril and then exhale through the other, using your finger to close the opposing nostril each time. 

This is also a great mindfulness technique since you’ll need to focus quite closely on what you’re doing, helping to clear your mind and making you feel even less stressed and anxious as you breathe.

Belly breathing

Diaphragmatic breathing (also known as belly breathing) is another brilliant way to help keep yourself calm, no matter what’s happening with your trades.

It may be a little trickier than nasal breathing to get to grips with, but the benefits can be extensive once you know what you’re doing. 

Again, you may not necessarily be aware of just how important your diaphragm is for your breathing since everything happens relatively automatically, but this muscle (which can be found at the base of your lungs) actually has a really essential role to play with your breath. 

When you inhale, it tightens and moves downwards to create more space in the chest so your lungs can then expand even further. And when you exhale, the muscle relaxes, moving back up into the chest cavity.

Belly breaths means you can take bigger, deeper breaths, so you’re working to encourage full oxygen exchange, which in turn then helps to slow your heart rate and reduce your blood pressure… which can prove very useful indeed from a trading perspective.

To get started, lie down on the floor or on your bed with your knees bent and a pillow beneath your hand. Place one hand on your chest and the other on your belly, just under the ribcage. 

Breathe in slowly through the nose and direct the air down towards your belly, feeling your hand rise as your belly does. The hand on your chest should remain still – which is how you know you’re doing it right. Practise this a couple of times a day (you can also do it sitting on a chair, if that’s more practical) and you’ll soon get the hang of it.

Bellows breathing

The next time you’re stressed and anxious, pay attention to what happens with your breathing. You’ll probably find that your breaths are shorter, more irregular and more shallow than they are when you’re calm and you’ll probably find that your chest and shoulders come up when you inhale. 

That’s because your sympathetic nervous system has been triggered by something and your fight or flight responses are now in charge.

Focusing on your breathing helps you to calm down, make you feel better and allow you to start thinking more rationally – something that bellows breathing techniques can really help you with.

Also known as Bhastrika, this type of breathing is something you often come across in yoga practice and it’s a popular one because it can help with stress, is energising and can potentially drop your heart rate and blood pressure, all at the same time.

To start, sit up and make sure your shoulders are relaxed. Take a few deep breaths through your nose and fill your belly with as much air as you can each time. Breathing from your diaphragm, quickly and forcefully inhale and exhale through your nose, aiming for ten breaths per cycle.

At the end of each cycle, take a break and breathe normally, then return to your bellows breath and repeat for three cycles. Once you’ve got to grips with the technique, you can start increasing the number of breaths and the number of cycles you are able to do.

Because it’s so energising, you may find that you prefer practising this technique first thing in the morning as a sort of wakeup call to get yourself all pumped up and ready to take on the day.

Humming bee breath

Yogic breathing can really help our physical, emotional and mental health and if you’re keen to put it into practice, the humming bee breath technique could be a great place to start… although you may want to make sure that there’s no one else around if you’re on the shy side, since you’ll be making lots of noise as you do it.

It involves making a humming sound as you breathe out, rather like the noise that a bee would make (hence the name!), and it’s thought that the sound and vibrations can really help release tension, soothe your anxious and stressed mind and help you feel more relaxed as you breathe.

To get started, sit down and make yourself comfortable somewhere, then close your eyes so you can really focus on what you’re doing and aren’t distracted by anything around you. Take a couple of moments to breathe in and out slowly through your nose, identifying any areas of tension in your face and body to encourage them to relax.

Using your index fingers, close off the tragus cartilage or cover your ears with the heels of your hands, then inhale and exhale deeply through the nose while your ears are covered. As you exhale, emit a humming noise – similar to a bee in tone. Repeat for six to ten cycles of breath, focusing on the sound of the breath and the vibration of the hum itself.

The idea is to strike a balance between the hum being strong enough for you to feel it but quiet and gentle enough for it to be relaxing for you. Tune into the vibration and see where you can feel it… hopefully it should be nice and soothing!

Once you’ve finished your cycles of breath, check in with yourself and see how you feel mentally, emotionally and physically. Hopefully, you’ll feel less agitated and stressed, less anxious and better able to tackle the tasks ahead.

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Why traders need to understand cognitive bias

As a forex trader, you will be used to thinking on your feet, and making fast decisions. The forex markets are constantly active, and you need to keep on top on a lot of information to be a successful and profitable trader. The human mind is wonderfully complex and flexible, and many us thrive on this sort of challenge.

However, it’s important to be aware of the cognitive biases which may be subconsciously at work in your busy mind, and could be causing you to unintentionally sabotage your trading success. Even if you think yourself immune to biased thinking, it’s worth being aware of this recognised phenomenon in all financial trading markets.

Biases can be conscious, but they can also happen subconsciously, when the mind is working quickly and dealing with multiple information strands at once, such as when you are trading. This process is to some extent helpful and unavoidable, as otherwise the mind would become paralysed with cognitive overload.

We build up a series of mental shortcuts when we are learning to carry out new tasks, to save us the time and effort of thinking through every step of the way from scratch. However, some of these selective thought patterns can be detrimental to good forex trading, because we can make decisions without enough objective evidence. 

Dozens of different types of cognitive biases have been identified by those who study trading psychology, but these are some of the main biases to be alert for in your trading behaviours.

Disposition bias

Also known as the disposition effect, this is the number one enemy of forex traders. It’s a widely recognised behavioural bias throughout all types of financial trading, and it can undermine your success without you even realising what the problem is.

Disposition bias refers to the natural human tendency to sell winning assets to early, for fear of losing out, and to hold on to losing assets for too long, in the hope that the markets will soon take a turn for the better.

Research shows that the vast majority of forex traders are more likely to sell when they’ve gained money than when they’ve lost money. Over time, this can have a significant effect on your profit margins, and may lead you to becoming disheartened when you fail to understand why all your hard work and preparation isn’t paying off.

It’s not a straightforward problem to tackle, because this type of behaviour is often hardwired into the human psyche, and so it can be a subconscious process which is difficult to recognise.  This is especially true when we are busy with the present moment, and under pressure to think fast and make quick decisions, as forex traders often are.

The human mind has a natural tendency to err on the side of caution. This has a sound evolutionary basis, because everyday decisions could literally mean life or death for our ancestors. Therefore, we have evolved to fear the pain of loss more acutely than we feel the elation and satisfaction of success.

In our everyday lives, we are also often conditioned to be loss-averse; for example, we are often drawn into shopping in the winter sales, even if end we up buying items we wouldn’t have done normally, are not exactly what we were aiming for, or didn’t really need. This can convince us that we are being economical, when in fact we are just spending more money.

The first step to overcoming your disposition bias is to acknowledge that we are all prone to it, no matter how confident you feel in your trading skills. It’s not a sign of a weak personality; it’s an innate human condition, so there is nothing wrong with admitting that you sometimes act on your instincts—it would be odd if you didn’t do this, in fact.

The best way to tackle the issue is to make a clear a trading plan and stick to it as closely as possible, and keep a detailed journal of your trading progress. Review your records regularly, and be vigilant for any situations where you may have locked in a profit at too early a stage in a trade, when a bigger profit could have been taken if you’d waited.

Also note any situations where you have hung on to a losing trade, for fear of turning a hypothetical loss into a real financial loss. Unless you have well-researched and objective evidence which leads you to believe that the market conditions will change in your favour, it is always best practice to avoid hanging on with blind faith for a market swing.

Anchor bias

This refers to giving too much weight to one piece of information over another, usually in the form of the earliest information we have found to base a decision on. The temptation is then to plough ahead with a course of action, at the expense of any new information which may come to light.

Although we may think we have taken into account the new information, we may do so in a way which means we subconsciously use the first piece of information as a reference point, instead of making an objective unbiased assessment. This may be to save us from the mental labour of revising or reforming our original plans.

The problem with anchor bias is that it can make us blind to the flaws in our original plans, and cling to a strategy for which there is no longer any logical evidence that it is sound.

For example, you know that the market rate for fixing a fault with your boiler is £70, and you ring a plumber who say they charge £100. You then ring another plumber who charges £80, and you decide to accept the quote because it is less than £100, even though you know the going rate is £70. This is an example of anchor bias.

Avoiding anchor bias is a difficult thing to do, because it’s one of the most powerful subconscious forces that drives our behaviour. However, by developing the mental discipline to stick to your trading plan, and make thorough and logical assessments of all the information you receive, you will put yourself in a stronger position.

The bandwagon bias

Sometimes also called the drag effect or the herding effect, this is a well-known cognitive bias which describes the human instinct to follow the crowd, rather than continue with a pattern of thought or behaviour which is in the minority. Conforming to whatever is the current ‘norm’ can be way of attempting to keep safe and avoid risk.

This can either a subconscious process, or a deliberate decision by people who fear becoming isolated from mainstream opinion, and prefer to be on the winning or most popular side. It may also be the result of a person assuming that because lots of people are doing something, it must mean it is the right thing for them to do as well.

The problem with the herding instinct is that it can mean we avoid thinking critically about new information, with an independent and objective point of view. In terms of trading, this could mean paying too much attention to media headlines about the financial markets, or anecdotal stories about the behaviour of other forex traders.

Following the herd in a market pile-on can lead to painful losses if the markets don’t move in the predicted way, or if you get caught by a sudden sharp rebound. It is always best to stick to your trading plan, and learn how to make an independent assessment of all the information that is available to you.

Confirmation bias

This is when we subconsciously give more weight to information which confirms our preconceived ideas and opinions. This can lead traders to seek out justifications for their intended cause of action, rather than to make objective assessments of the available information.

Results bias

This is something which new forex traders may be particularly prone to. It’s when you pay too much attention to the end result of a process, rather than the steps you took which led you there.

For example, you might have made a profitable trade through sheer good luck, rather than because you based your actions on market knowledge and technical analysis. Other times, you may have been tempted to ignore your risk management plan, and dropped lucky.

Results like these can lead us to repeat the same actions in the hope of achieving the same outcome, no matter how unsound the process was. They can also lead to us becoming overconfident, and conclude that that our previous attitude to risk was too cautious.

These are very dangerous patterns of behaviour to fall into in forex trading. The only path to steady profits is by sticking to a risk management plan and careful research—any other approach is no better than gambling.

The takeaway for traders who are keen to avoid cognitive biases is to learn how to think critically and independently at every step in the journey. This means leaving your emotions aside, and avoiding giving too much weight to any one particular piece of information or line of thought.

Mastering this frame of mind will help you become a more consistent and profitable trader within a much shorter time frame. For more information on how to use an instant prop funding firm, visit our website today.

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How Can Your Personality Profile Affect Your Trading?

When you first start forex trading, you’ll find that there’s a very steep learning curve – and it might be some time before you start seeing serious returns on your investments consistently.

 

This can get a little bit frustrating, of course, as no one likes to lose… but the good news is that FX trading isn’t just about bringing in the big bucks and the journey is just as important as the destination for many traders out there.

 

What you might not yet have considered, especially if you’re just starting out with trading currency pairs, is that you’ll learn a huge amount about yourself as you trade and, in fact, this knowledge can be turned to your advantage and make you an even better trader… which is when you’ll start to see more positive winning trends over time.

 

Knowing what makes you tick, what your weaker areas are, where your vulnerabilities lie will only serve you in excellent stead as you progress in your trading career.

 

Identifying your strong points and your failings will show you exactly where you need to focus your attention and what needs the most work from a trading perspective.

 

So how do you go about finding out all this information and how can you use it to the benefit of your trading performance?

 

First of all, you need to work out just what your individual characteristics are and what your personality profile is, so you can start ironing everything out to give your trading a boost.

 

Luckily, a lot of the hard work has been done for you by Dr Van Tharp, a professional psychologist and trader coach who has written a vast amount of literature on trading psychology and personality… so you can bet that he knows what he’s talking about!

 

Dr Tharp has identified 15 different trader personality types:

 

• The Accurate Trader
• The Administrative Trader
• The Artistic Trader
• The Adventurous Trader
• The Detailed Trader
• The Facilitative Trader
• The Fun Loving Trader
• The Independent Trader
• The Innovative Trader
• The Planning Trader
• The Socially Responsible Trader
• The Spontaneous Trader
• The Strategic Trader
• The Supportive Trader
• The Values Driven Trader

 

And if you want to find out where you sit among these 15, you can do so very easily indeed by heading over to the Van Tharp Institute website where there’s a handy little personality test you can take.

 

We’ve been doing a series of posts on the blog that have been delving a little deeper into each of the personality profiles so you can see where you fit in and what changes you could make (if any!) to how you trade based on what you learn about yourself.

 

In truth, you’ll probably find that you identify characteristics within yourself from several if not more of these profiles, but there’s no need to worry if you do have something of an overlap. It’s simply a matter of finding out what’s most applicable to you so you can analyse your trading on a deeper psychological level and change your strategy as appropriate.

 

In this blog, the last in the series we’ve been running, we’ll be looking at the Strategic Trader, the Supportive Trader and the Values Driven Trader. Where do you think you’ll position yourself?

 

The Strategic Trader

 

Now, if you’ve identified yourself as being a Strategic Trader, then you’re already in an incredibly strong position and definitely have what it takes on an intrinsic level to make a career out of trading.

 

Strategic Traders have all three of the core qualities Dr Tharp has identified among the top traders out there, so you already have all you need to really excel at fx trading… as long as you’re willing to put the work in, of course.

 

As a Strategic Trader, you’re able to see the bigger picture and make new connections between events to identify new possibilities and opportunities quickly and relatively easily.

 

You’re also able to make your decisions based on logic and analysis, which will certainly prove very useful from a trading point of view. And you’re decisive in general, orderly and able to tackle tasks sequentially, all of which can really help you on the trading floor.

 

Advice from Dr Tharp is to consider really studying some of the most successful traders out there and seeing what they do in different situations. This can help you see patterns in the market so you can work out what you need to do in order to take advantage… you may well find yourself joining the ranks of the greats sooner rather than later as well!

 

Another key trading skill that you’re likely to have in abundance is a really strong sense of independence and self-sufficiency. This is an essential quality for traders, so if this sounds like you, you really are in a strong position.

 

However, there are some challenges you need to be aware of that could get in the way of your success. For example, you may be such a logical person that you fail to see when your emotions are leading you astray.

 

You also have a tendency to be a perfectionist and this could see you stall as a trader, so busy developing better systems and strategies that you actually neglect to trade at all… so be aware of this pitfall if you can.

 

The Supportive Trader

 

Unfortunately, if you’ve taken the personality test and your results suggest that you’re a Supportive Trader, you don’t have any of the three core qualities that help to really drive trading success.

 

But that doesn’t mean you won’t be able to bring home some big wins! It might just mean you have to try a little harder at it than others and, in this instance, knowing your strengths and weaknesses as a trader becomes even more important.

 

Supportive Traders are typically very dependable, practical and realistic, taking their responsibilities extremely seriously indeed. They’re also reluctant to take risks, which can prove problematic for trading strategies, as it may be necessary to take some quite significant risks when trading if you do want to make a lucrative career out of it.

 

Another area where you may fall down on as a Supportive Trader is your values and view of how life should be.

 

When something doesn’t fit in with your world view, you’re certainly vocal about it but you often find that you adapt your beliefs and outlook to fit in with someone else’s standards of what’s right and wrong, instead of trusting your own values and believing in yourself.

 

For trading, this could have some disastrous consequences… so if you’re determined to make it as a trader, this could be a great area to really prioritise first of all.

 

You do have some trading strengths, however, so with some work you may well see the success you’ve always dreamed of. For example, you can identify patterns and opportunities quickly that you’re able to hypothesise quickly to bring forth low-risk trading ideas.

 

And you can work well with simple systems and ways of working that put risk management at their core, so if you’re just starting out as a trader, this could be a good strategy for you to employ.

 

The Values Driven Trader

 

Here’s the good news! If you’ve worked out that you’re more of a Values Driven Trader than anything else, you’re already blessed with two out of the three top core qualities that make a successful trader! You’re able to see the big picture easily and you have no problem whatsoever making decisions, both of which will really help you in your trading career.

 

Typically, these kinds of traders trust their instincts above anything else and this can be a really advantageous trait to have as a trader. However, training and practice is essential if you are to turn this attribute to your real trading advantage, as it could lead you astray if you don’t have significant market experience.

 

Values Driven Traders are also often found to be creative and independent, which are also great skills to have for forex trading. You’re likely to have lots of great ideas for your planning and strategy, so if you are able to fully commit and put the hard graft in, there’s absolutely no reason why you shouldn’t perform well as a trader.

 

Something to really focus on is the analysis involved in trading. Without this, it’s probable that you won’t see the success you want, since you’ll be largely driven by your own instincts and gut feelings, rather than what the data says. So make sure you keep an eye out for this particular pitfall!

 

Thinking of starting forex prop trading? With our funding programmes, you can trade where you like, when you like. All you need is internet access and a trustworthy trading strategy. Get in touch with us today to find out more.

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6 Must-Have Trading Mind Tools

Forex trading is a constant learning curve. An understanding of how the markets work and a grasp of some technical analysis tools are essential to make a good start, and get going with profitable trades. Once you have a solid trading strategy in place, it’s also important to understand yourself a little more deeply.

This may seem like a strange concept which has little to do with the world of currencies, percentage points, and candlestick charts. However, when you begin to unpack the psychology of what you are actually trying to achieve, it all starts to make more sense.

Ultimately, you are trading to make a profit for yourself, by taking controlled risks. This brings out two powerful and primal human emotions in even the most stoical of people: fear and greed. More specifically, it is a natural instinct to fear loss, and it is also natural to pursue personal gain.

No matter how thorough your knowledge of the forex markets, or how good your technical strategy is, without the right mental and emotional discipline, you will always be faced with a huge obstacle to better trading decisions.

To stop your instincts fighting against each other and hampering your efforts, you need to have some psychological tricks in your toolkit. Here are six of the most important tools to know about.

Know your biases

The first step is to accept that at some point you will feel emotions, such as excitement, greed, anxiety, and so on, no matter how calm you feel before starting trading. Understanding your particular weak links is the first line of defence. As human beings, we are all subject to unconscious biases in our worldview, and the same applies to trading.

One of the most common biases for inexperienced traders is overconfidence bias. This is often a stage that traders go through after their first run of successful trades. Everyone has an ego which needs a boost now and them, but in forex an overinflated ego can be the road to ruin.

Even if you are experiencing success, remember that it is rarely a consistent pattern in forex trading. Even experienced traders consider a 50% success rate to be good going. Convincing yourself that you know what you are doing, and you can ease up on the hard slog of daily reviews and analysis, will soon trip you up.

Instead, stick to your game plan, and don’t be tempted to loosen up your risk management strategy when faced with a string of winners.

Loss aversion bias is another common trait of new traders. It stems from the tendency to fear making a loss over pursuing a gain. This is a natural human trait, rather than a personal weakness, and it is a way of protecting ourselves from taking risks.

The fear of losing is a stronger motivator than the elation of victory in most people, which is possibly the result of evolution, where it was more important to avoid predators and stay alive, than to hunt down extra food. However, forex trading is all about taking managed risks, and an over-cautious attitude will hamper your progress.

Be wary of your comfort zone

Once you have a little experience and some success under your belt, it can be easy to settle down into a comfort zone. The human mind has a natural tendency to cut corners, and repeat past actions rather than venture to learn new ones. This has a necessary purpose, to make carrying out routine tasks quicker and easier.

However, forex trading is all about being ready for the unexpected, and staying in a comfort zone will soon mean you are in a danger zone. You need to be constantly looking ahead, at not assume that past strategies will always work for you in the future. While a consistent approach is important, becoming blinkered to new influences will mean you get left behind.

Keep up with the economic news, and make sure you understand how socio-political events influence the forex markets. We are currently living through turbulent times, so it is more important than ever to be on top of your knowledge, and be flexible in your attitude to trying out new techniques and strategies.

Know your personality type

While there are universal human traits which we are all prone to, we also have individual personalities. These are the result of our genetic inheritance, our upbringing, and the life experiences we have accumulated so far.

Instead of trying to separate your trading mindset from your natural inclinations, it’s better to understand what your dominant personality type is, and work with it, rather than against it.

Start by asking yourself a few questions, such as how patient, or impatient, you are. Do you thrive off making quick decisions, or do you prefer time to digest things? Are you disciplined and good at sticking to routines, or are you an impulsive person who likes to use their intuition?

Do you enjoy spotting patterns, and have strong spatial recognition skills? Do you prefer to get down with details, or assess the bigger picture? How do you act when you are under pressure: can you make quick decisions without panicking, or do you clam up with fear and indecision?

There’s no one single personality type that is most suited to trading: it’s more about recognising who you are, and playing to your strengths. If you’re good under pressure, comfortable with making snap decisions, and have a sharp eye for detail, you’re likely to thrive as a day trader, making a series of quick wins.

If you prefer space to think things over, are patient and methodical, and like to analyse the bigger picture, you may be better suited to swing trading, where you hold positions for longer.

Filter out the noise

We will always recommend that you learn as much as you can about forex trading before you start, but it is important to be selective about what information is going to be relevant to your personality and circumstances. For example, if you are going to be fitting trading around your day job, you may need to focus on day trading or swing trading.

Burying yourself in a miasma of tips, tricks, and techniques is likely to leave you paralysed with indecision, as it is impossible to act on all of it. Chances are, you will feel overwhelmed, and lose your appetite for trading completely. Instead, work on refining the plethora of information available, so that you filter out the least relevant stuff.

 This can be difficult, because even if you have a well-suited finely tuned strategy, you are still going to experience some setbacks, especially at first. Be prepared to keep learning, and make tweaks and adjustments, until you find out what works best for you. Traders sometimes refer to this sweet spot as finding their ‘edge’.

However, don’t become fixated with the idea that there is one perfect strategy out there which will be the answer to all your prayers. There are literally hundreds of different approaches to trading forex, and lots of them could work equally well for you. Searching for the holy grail will just mean a lot of wasted time which could have been spent trading.

 

Accept that the market is random

Accepting the random nature of the forex markets doesn’t mean that you should abandon a strategy and simply gamble. Rather, it means that accepting risk and losses are all part of the game. Even very experienced traders make losses, but they don’t get defeated by them.

If the losses become out of line with their expectations, they review their records to work out what might need some adjustment.

They then make some tweaks, maybe accept they were wrong, or just that they needed to respond to a change in the market movements, and then they carry on trading. It’s about averages and probabilities, not being always right or wrong, because literally no trader is. As long as you define and manage your risks, you are on the right path.

Align your lifestyle with your trading mindset

So you have accepted that we all bring human emotions into trading, and are aware of how these might influence your behaviour. To keep yourself in the optimum frame of mind, it can be really helpful to make some lifestyle adjustments.

Eating healthily, so that you are keeping your brain and body well supplied with nutrients, is very important. Poor nutrition can lead to poor sleep, poor concentration, and make it much more difficult for us to control our emotions. Exercising frequently also helps to manage stress, and keeps us feeling mentally alert and at the top of our game.

Many traders complement a well-balanced lifestyle with a meditation routine. This could be anything form 10 minutes in the morning, to a full hour. There is a huge range of advice out there on mindfulness techniques, which help you to clear the mind of everyday mental clutter, and improve your focus and concentration.

If you are looking for an instant funding prop firm, please get in touch today.

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Discover Your Trading Personality Today

Stagnation is the death knell for any truly successful and lucrative career in forex trading and if you truly want to make it in the trading world, you’ll need to make sure that you’re constantly growing and evolving, both as a trader and as a human being.

 

Trading performance is intrinsically linked with your emotions, your characteristics, your personal attributes… and making these a top priority as an integral part of your overall trading strategy will really serve you well as time goes on.

 

Remaining open-minded and flexible is absolutely key, as you may find that you have some characteristics that simply aren’t well suited to a life as a forex trader. But once you’re armed with all the information you need, you can start to think about how you can make improvements on a personal level to help support your trading.

 

So… where to begin?

 

The first step is to identify your particular set of personal characteristics so you can see where your strengths and weaknesses lie. Luckily, there is help at hand in this regard and if you head over to the Van Tharp Institute website, you’ll find a personality test to take that will help you see where you fit in among 15 different profiles.

 

Dr Van Tharp himself is a professional psychologist and trader coach, who’s written a library of books on trading psychology and personality. As resources go, his back catalogue could prove to be particularly enlightening reading if you do want to delve even further into the topic.

 

The 15 different trader personality types are:

 

• The Accurate Trader
• The Administrative Trader
• The Artistic Trader
• The Adventurous Trader
• The Detailed Trader
• The Facilitative Trader
• The Fun Loving Trader
• The Independent Trader
• The Innovative Trader
• The Planning Trader
• The Socially Responsible Trader
• The Spontaneous Trader
• The Strategic Trader
• The Supportive Trader
• The Values Driven Trader

 

Over the last few blog posts, we’ve been looking closer at each of these profiles so you can start to build up an idea of where you might fit in and what this could potentially mean for your career.

 

It’s possible that you’ll identify with one or more of the profiles, so don’t worry if you do find a bit of overlap. The idea is simply to find out what’s most applicable to you so you can start to evaluate your decision-making on a deeper level, making changes to your trading plan as and when necessary.

 

In this blog, we’ll be looking at the Planning Trader, the Socially Responsible Trader and the Spontaneous Trader. Where do you think you’ll fit in?

 

The Planning Trader

 

First of all, congratulations if you took the test and you’ve found out that you’re a Planning Trader!

 

This means that you have all three top core qualities that Dr Van Tharp has identified as helping to make top traders… you’re able to see the bigger picture, you’re decisive, orderly and operate sequentially, and you make decisions based on logic and analysis.

 

As an individual, you’re probably decisive and perform well in leadership roles, happy to step in as and when circumstances dictate. You can develop trading systems quickly that suit your specific needs at different times and can implement them just as quickly.

 

You’re also very capable of spotting logical inefficiencies in the market, taking advantage of them as they pop up.

 

Another particular strength you’re likely to have is your ability to plan in advance, keeping both short and long-term goals at the forefront of your mind.

 

As Dr Van Tharp says, if you apply yourself properly and develop a solid plan for trading, while doing the work to gain a deeper understanding of what constitutes success, you have the potential to be very successful! So that’s great news!

 

No one is perfect, however, and it’s important to remember that you’re sure to have some weak areas that you could benefit from concentrating on. Arrogance has no place in forex trading, after all – and you should always make sure you’re open to self-improvement, no matter how seasoned you are as a trader.

 

One potential pitfall to be vigilant of is the loss trap. You may find that you’re so driven by your desire to be right about your trades that you start failing to honour your stops… so keep an eye out for this.

 

The Socially Responsible Trader

 

While, as a Socially Responsible Trader, you’re not in quite such a good position as a Planning Trader, you do still have one of the top three core qualities that make a top-notch trader… you’re able to see the bigger picture and you’re good at making decisions. So that’s a great start!

 

However, although this is undeniably good news, something you would be wise to be on your guard for is what’s actually driving your decisions. Is it your emotions or is it analysis and logic?

 

Emotions can really hinder trading success and it’s important to do all you can to keep them under control, good and bad. But the more you delve into your personality type, the more you’ll see areas to improve upon and find strategies to help you master your emotions, keeping you on track.

 

In terms of other characteristics, Socially Responsible Traders are typically motivated by their values and what feels right. You’re also able to commit to a clear trading plan and are able to stick to it, even when faced with serious challenges.

 

With a bit of focus and attention, you may also find that you’re able to identify multiple different systems and blend them together to help drive you towards achieving your trading goals.

 

As for obstacles that may well crop up, keep an eye out for the loss trap, as you probably hate being wrong… and you may want to prove your trading strategy is right at all costs!

 

The Spontaneous Trader

 

Again, you’re off to a great start if you’ve discovered that you’re a Spontaneous Trader… you can grasp the bigger picture and you’re able to make connections between events quickly, so you’re able to act sooner rather than later.

 

This is a great quality for a trader to have, but you may find that you become so engrossed in looking for possibilities that you forget to come up with a strong trading plan, one that will guide you on the road to achieving your vision.

 

Another potential problem that this type of trader may encounter is taking on too much risk without the proper preparation to back it up. Dr Van Tharp advises you to look into the concept of position sizing and what this means before you start to trade.

 

Distraction is also something you might want to be on your guard against. You may find yourself tempted away from following your trading plan by something new and exciting, even if your strategy is working well.

 

Always remember that you carried out all that analysis and research for a reason and your plan was devised with that in mind, so deviation without proper preparation could spell disaster if you’re not careful.

 

However, what’s particularly great about Spontaneous Traders is that they have no trouble whatsoever viewing trading like a business… and as long as they have a solid plan in place, there’s no reason at all why they shouldn’t be able to enjoy a long and lucrative career in forex trading.

 

That being said, just make sure you maintain a good work-life balance as well, while keeping an eye on your stress levels and ensuring that your emotions are kept in check.

 

So… now you’ve read all that, where do you think you fit in? Of course, you may not identify as any of these three personality types, so make sure you check back over our past blogs to see if any of the other profiles sound more like you.

 

The idea is that once you have an idea of some of the issues that could potentially have an impact on your trading, you can then take steps to enact meaningful change and drive self-improvement and self-awareness.

 

When it comes to trading performance, you’re the most important factor – and knowing what your strengths and weaknesses are can make a huge difference to how well you do.

 

So if you are starting to wonder how best to up your game in the future, perhaps begin by taking the personality test and go from there. Who knows where you could end up?

 

Thinking of starting forex prop trading? With our funding programmes, you can trade where you like, when you like. All you need is internet access and a trustworthy trading strategy. Get in touch with us today to find out more.

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How Meditation Can Transform Your Forex Trading

Forex trading calls for a sharp mind, quick decisions, and a cool head. Some people seem to be naturally blessed with these traits, but chances are, they are doing a lot of background work to keep this mindset together. In many cases, that work involves a daily meditation routine.

 

At first glance, you may not think that the cut and thrust world of forex trading has much to do with the world of meditation. You may even feel hostile to the idea of taking part in a ‘woolly’ practice, which seems to be the antithesis to the hard facts and figures of the fast moving trading markets.

 

However, forex trading actually calls on powerful human emotions such as fear and greed, which we are all predisposed to feeling, and are especially acute when we are under pressure and faced with the prospect of gaining or losing a lot of money!

 

Successful traders understand that the best way to stop these emotions from negatively impacting their decisions is not to try and suppress them, but to learn how to manage them effectively. This is where meditation techniques come in. Here’s why it could make you a more effective and profitable trader.

 

Meditation calms the ‘monkey mind’

You may have heard of the term ‘monkey mind’ to refer to a state of poor concentration. It’s a Buddhist expression, and it is used to describe the way the mind wanders from thought to thought while we are not properly focused on a task. Psychologists sometimes call this state the ‘default mode network’ (DMN).

 

While we all need some mental space to be alone with our thoughts sometimes, the more time we spend doing this, the less helpful and productive it becomes. This is because the mind tends to have a negativity bias. That is, it naturally tends to foreground negative thoughts and past experiences rather than positive ones.

 

This was once useful from an evolutionary point of view, because it tended to stop our ancestors from being eaten by predators or starving to death in the wintertime, for example. However, now it is a much less useful trait. Of course, sometimes we still need to be alert to danger or learn from mistakes, and we shouldn’t ignore warning voices.

 

However, when negativity becomes our default mindset, it can hold us back from achieving our goals. Our wandering minds can ruminate over the mistakes we made in the past, or worry about the future, rather than recall pleasurable or positive thoughts that uplift and sustain us.

 

If you tend to have a critical inner voice, as many people do, allowing your mind to ruminate freely tends to amplify it. This can stop us moving forwards in life, or being as productive and successful as we have the potential to be. It’s a constant drain and distraction on our mental and emotional energy.

 

It’s not difficult to see how this state of mind can affect your forex trading, which calls for a laser focus, self-belief, and mental discipline. The good news is, it is possible to conquer this unsettled and restless state of mind through meditation techniques.

 

How to shut down the monkey mind

The most effective way to train a wandering mind is to learn how to focus on the present, through mindful meditation. This way, whenever you find your attention fragmenting, you can quickly collect yourself and bring your thoughts  back to the moment. It is this calm and focused mindset that often leads to successful trading decisions.

 

You will find that you are less prone to speculating about the ‘what ifs’? You will be less easily swayed by every blip in the market, and less inclined to follow the herd when a piece of economic data or geopolitical event is rocking the boat. In short, your decisions are more likely to be objective and clear sighted.

 

To get yourself in the right mindset for meditation, first find a quiet and comfortable place to sit, that is free from distractions. Many people like to meditate first thing in the morning, or before bed. You can spend as little as 10 minutes on meditation, or as long as an hour. As you notice the benefits, you may wish to increase your practice a little each day.

 

Avoid meditating in direct view of your desk or laptop, or anything that reminds you of trading, or your day job. In fact, try and avoid focusing on anything visually interesting at all, but keep your gaze soft and slightly downwards focused. Wear loose comfortable clothing, so you can breathe freely without any restrictions.

 

When you are sitting, pay attention to your posture. You should sit up straight, with relaxed shoulders, your chin should be parallel to the floor, and your feet hip width apart and resting just under your knees. Your hands should be placed palms down in your lap. Some people prefer to sit on the floor, and adopt the lotus or half lotus position.

 

The next step is to focus on your breathing. Breathe only through your nose, and notice how your belly rises and falls as you breathe in and out. At some point, a thought will pop into your mind, such as something you need to do later on that day, or a reflection on a past event.

 

Instead of dwelling on the thought, let it go. It can be helpful to visualise intrusive thoughts as clouds floating across a sky, or leaves floating by on a stream. Concentrate on the rhythm and physical sensations of your breathing, to bring yourself back to the present.

 

Eventually, you should notice that your regular breathing is having a calming effect on your central nervous system. At first, 10 minutes is probably the most you can manage. However, as your focus and concentration grows stronger, you may find that 15 or 20 minutes is the optimum time for meditation to really make a difference to your day to day mindset.

 

If you find that you become impatient or distracted, don’t dismiss the idea or become cross with yourself. Treat yourself with compassion, and just calmly centre yourself and bring your focus back to the present. Meditation isn’t a game of success or failure; it’s a gradual process of developing an objective, observer’s worldview.

 

Remember that learning mindfulness is just like any other training programme: you don’t expect to be match fit after one trip to the gym; you accept that it is a steady process that will develop over the coming weeks and months. The more you practice mindfulness on a regular basis, the better your powers of concentration will become.

 

Some people find it useful to listen to an app which talks them through the process. There are dozens of free meditation tools that can be downloaded straight to your phone, and have different daily exercises for you to try. Even just setting your timer can help too, because you are not tempted to interrupt your meditation to check your watch.

 

How to fit mindfulness into daily life

If you are constantly pushed for time, juggling a family, a full-time job, and your trading commitments, a daily meditation routine may seem like an impossible luxury. However, it is possible to incorporate mindfulness into ordinary activities. Here are a few ideas.

 

If you take exercise, even a 10-minute walk at lunchtime, this can be an opportunity to practice mindfulness. Focus on the rhythm of your feet as they carry you along, and notice the pattern of your breathing.

 

When you are in the shower or brushing your teeth, concentrate on the movements of your body, and the sensation of the warm water, the taste of the toothpaste, the scent of the shower gel, and so on.

 

How to draw on mindfulness when you are trading

Of course, eventually you will need to apply what you have learnt to your trading. When faced with a tense moment, such as when the markets begin to turn just as you were about to achieve a profit target, get yourself into that objective mind frame. This doesn’t mean you should ignore what is happening, but it can buy you a moment to consult your trading strategy, rather than make a hasty and panicked decision that you will regret later.

 

Mindfulness meditation alone isn’t enough to be a good trader of course, you need to be backed up by a well-informed trading strategy, that is aligned to your trading goals. You should work out in advance what your risk tolerance levels are, so that you are not tempted to trade with more capital than you can afford.

 

With instant forex funding available, it has never been easier to enter the world of forex trading. It’s perfectly possible to learn how to be a successful trader through mastering technical skills and knowing what your limits are. However, mastering your emotions and thought processes will really bring you up to a whole new level of the game.

 

Every decision you make matters, and in forex trading, those decisions should be clear sighted and logical. This is why learning to separate your thought processes from your emotional responses is such a powerful tool.

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Manifest Your Way To Trading Success

In forex trading, as in life, it’s important to remain goal oriented and set yourself targets for what you want to achieve. It’s an excellent strategy for anyone who wants to see progress and who doesn’t want to stagnate… but, of course, it can be hard to remain focused on the task at hand and keep those goals firmly at the forefront of your mind at all times.

 

We live in a world of constant distraction and there’s always something clamouring for our attention, no matter what we’re doing. All too often, before we know it, we’ve completely lost track of what we actually had planned and suddenly our goals and targets seem even further away than they did before.

 

If this sounds like a familiar story to you, don’t despair! There’s a lot you can do to help you keep your eyes on the prize, whatever it is you’re aiming for… and the fine art of manifestation could well be a good place to begin.

 

But what exactly is manifestation?

 

One of the buzzwords of the last year or so, the idea behind manifestation is that you can bring what you want into existence by practising aspirational thinking and employing various techniques and meditations.

However, as a concept, manifestation isn’t new and its origins can be traced back to the 19th century New Thought spiritual movement, which came to the fore in the US at that time. Elements of the practice can be traced even further back than that, with links to Plato’s ideals and Greek philosophy, as well as Hinduism and Transcendentalism.

Part of the idea here is that what we think can have a direct influence on the material world and, as such, it’s possible to manifest your own reality with the power of thought.

 

For anyone interested in pursuing a lucrative career as an FX trader but who isn’t quite seeing the success they’d like to may well find that manifestation helps them get where they want to be.

 

As a trader, setting achievable goals over time will help you improve your performance, develop in your career and make positive, well thought-out changes to your trading strategy in line with how well or badly you’re doing.

 

Have you heard of SMART goals?

 

A little acronym you might want to keep in your mind when considering setting short and long-term goals is SMART… Specific Measurable Achievable Relevant Time-Bound.

 

This goal-setting strategy is a great one for traders to follow and should help you stay on track, important from a trading perspective because you’re essentially working for yourself, with no big boss to report to and no one to hold you accountable… no one except yourself, that is.

 

Broader goals may prove to be ineffective and rather intangible, so try to aim for something more specific that you can work towards, such as coming up with a minimum win rate within a set timeframe.

 

Measurable goals, meanwhile, are important because they give you a really good way of evaluating just how well or how badly you’re doing, so you can find areas ripe for improvement, all through the use of data that’s highly relevant to your daily trading.

 

However, it’s just as important to make sure that you set yourself achievable goals that you have a realistic chance of reaching. Aiming too high too soon could see you fail, so make sure that you’re giving yourself the best chance for success.

 

Relevancy is also key and focusing on this one will make sure that your broader goals become more attainable more quickly. Always make sure that your goals are in light with your personal growth and development as a trader… otherwise, you could just be wasting lots of valuable time.

 

And, finally, short-term goals can help you feel as though you’re progressing and you’ll find you meet your longer-term ambitions more effectively over time, as well.

 

Setting yourself a realistic timeframe to hit your goals can boost productivity, increase your confidence and sense of self-worth and give you the structure you need to really start seeing success as a trader.

 

So how can manifestation help you achieve your goals?

 

The art of manifestation involves practices like meditation, visualisation and mindfulness to help turn dreams into reality.

 

From the get-go, you’ll likely find that you learn an awful lot about yourself quite quickly and making the decision to try manifesting can show you immediately what you value most and what you most want to pursue in life.

 

The positive thinking aspect of manifestation can yield other benefits to you, aside from helping you visualise and attain your goals. Maintaining a positive outlook can help you ward off depression and help give you the resilience and skills you need to cope well in the face of stress… most important for forex traders!

 

An interesting study published in the Basic and Applied Social Psychology journal found that visualisation exercises were able to help tennis players perform better on the court and, by visualising winning, they consequently saw more wins than when they didn’t practise visualisation.

 

So it could certainly be worth trying your hand at manifestation if you do want to start driving more success your way.

 

Of course, it isn’t simply a matter of just sitting down to think happy thoughts and expecting good fortune to come your way… you will have to take practical and decisive steps towards achieving your goals in order for them to come to fruition, but manifestation could be one great weapon to have in your arsenal on your trading journey.

 

To help you get started with manifestation, here are a couple of techniques and exercises you could try. Who knows what the future may hold?

 

Visualisation

 

Visualisation uses all five of your senses (touch, taste, sight, smell and hearing) to help you imagine your future goals as if they were true right now.

 

It can be hard to master but it involves engaging all the senses and either envisioning the desirable future endpoint or envisioning the steps that need to be taken in order to get there.

 

To start, write down what it is you want in detail, engaging all your senses and including as much imagery and detail as possible to really bring your ambitions to life on the page. Do this once a day to really help keep your goals in mind.

 

There are lots of other ways to practise visualisation over on the Envision blog.

 

Positive affirmations

 

It’s easy to fall into the trap of negative thinking, even if you’re generally a positive and optimistic person, but you can really help yourself out if you start reciting positive affirmations to yourself on a regular basis. This can help you retrain your thought patterns and processes, helping you maintain a more positive outlook.

 

Positive affirmations that you could say to yourself include: I am successful, I am worthy of my dreams, I will succeed, I am excellent at what I do, I can do this, I am resilient, I am proud of myself… and so on!

 

You can use your affirmation statements to target a specific area, belief or personal behaviour you’d like to address, so have a think about which parts of your life you’d like to change… and take it from there.

 

Keep an intention journal

 

As traders, we’re well used to journaling and it represents an important part of the process for anyone who wants to see more wins than losses. But journaling can also help you make plans and stick to them, making it easier for you to break big jobs down and make them more achievable… which, in turn, will bring your dreams closer and closer to reality.

 

At the end of each day, write down three to five actions you want to complete the following day, whatever they may be. The key here is to make sure that your intentions are in line with what you value most, so your end goals are always in sight. Eyes on the prize, as they say!

 

Vision boarding

 

Something else you could try is vision boarding, where you sit down to create a tangible visual representation of whatever it is you’re trying to attract.

 

This really helps give us a clear direction of where we’re going and where we want to end up, so we can rid ourselves of unproductive distractions and really get down to business.

 

You can include whatever you like on these boards, but it could be helpful to start using images that inspire emotion within you and which align with your particular values.

 

Once you’ve finished the board, hang it somewhere prominent so you see it all the time, or perhaps consider making a digital board and keeping it somewhere on your phone or tablet. Before you know it, your trading career will be well on the way!

 

Looking for a new forex funding account? With us, you can trade when you like where you like… all you need is an internet connection! Get in touch with us today to find out more.

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