Hi. I’ve been a member here since the beginning of the year but have been trading for about a year before that. I just had somewhat of an epiphany that I wanted to share with whoever wants to listen. There are 5 things that if you can always remember, then it could really help you in your trading. These things have helped me personally, so maybe it will help you too.
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The market doesn’t care about you
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Nobody knows what the market will do
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Don’t let other people persuade you into making a trade that you wouldn’t have otherwise.
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Pips are just hype
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Do not compare yourself to other traders
As you can tell, this isn’t advice that has to do with the actual trades but rather the trading process. I will go over a brief explanation of what each of these are in case there is confusion even though they are pretty self-explanatory.
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The market doesn’t have feelings such as sympathy. It doesn’t care if you become a millionaire overnight or lose your whole account. Either one is possible (the latter is much more likely if you aren’t careful).
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Nobody has a magic crystal ball that can predict the future accurately all the time. If somebody says they can then they are lying. Stay away from people who say they “know” something will happen.
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This mainly applies to people with little or no experience although I believe if any trader remembers this it will help. When you are first learning to trade and are in the field, it is ok to get advice from people because you are trying to get as much information as possible, however once you have an established positive track record, it will do you no good to listen to anybody that is advising something against what you already do that works.
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One pet peeve of mine and something I still fail to grasp is why people care how many pips you make. It is very possible to actually make negative pips for a certain time period and still be profitable!!! The point is pips don’t matter. What matters is a gradual increase in your account regardless of pips. You always have to be thinking long term. Focus on consistent increases in percentage with your capital and not how many pips it took you to get there.
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Last but certainly not least is do not compare yourself to other traders. If Bob made 50% on his account with a single trade and you want to try and make 50% too , you will most likely lose in the long run. It doesn’t matter how much other people make. They do not pay you money that they make and ultimately do not care if you yourself make or lose money. Everyone is out for themselves. This is a business. Sure, you may not make a lot of money in a short period of time relative to your account size like that other guy, but instead you will make slow and steady gains. What that guy probably isn’t telling you is how much he loses on his trades. In fact, even in the unlikely case that he doesn’t lose often and consistenly makes 200% every month, then it should still not concern you. Anything that induces pressure is not helpful and when you compare yourself to others, that is typically what happens. It is ok to lose money and to have losing days. So which is more important? I will take slow and steady to large account swings in an instant everytime.
Combined with proper money management and discipline, these 5 guidelines can be very helpful in seeing the market objectively. Good luck and I wish you the best.