Maintaining Proper Trading Psychology

When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail... The same can be applied to trading. When all you have is the "OPPORTUNITY" to trade, sometimes traders find themselves clicking into trades just to be involved with the markets. Do you find yourself making acceptances for your trades that are not in your plan? What causes this? Is it a need for action? Is it a need to be right? Is it a fear of missed opportunity? One of the reasons many traders struggle - over trading or forcing the trade. The most common misconception among new traders is that they have to constantly be in the market. Remember it's not the quantity of trades you take, but the quality of your trades you take. By being in the market all the time the trader does not give him or herself a chance to pause and will eventually lose because of the unfavorable market conditions. Don't force trades just because you feel you need to be in the market. Trading out of boredom is the worst reason to be in the market. You have to be PATIENT! Patience is one of the keys to becoming successful trader. Patience will keep you from overtrading. Patience will give you enough time to observe and look for a potential setup for the next trade. Trading is all about probabilities. You must make many trades to get the law of averages to work in your favor. As long as the setups are solid, and you're using sound money management and risk control, you'll make enough trades to come out ahead.

There is truth in the adage, "Plan the Trade, Trade the Plan."

About the author:  Jason Brumbalow is the Chief Operating Officer of www.thetradingauthority.com. The Trading Authority is a full-service trading education company, successfully mentoring professional trading firms, active screen traders, and floor traders for over a decade. Brumbalow leads a team of market traders and trading coaches with over 65 years of trading experience.  Their philosophy is to provide a one-stop trading education solution by addressing all of the factors critical to trading success. These include a profitable trading system and tools as well as trading psychology mentoring and money management strategies.