Discipline is an integral part of becoming a consistently profitable trader. However, most of the forex traders find themselves unable to remain disciplined as they trade the markets. What we should do in order to become a disciplined traders and how we can change our trading habits to become more disciplined?
One of my suggestions, and this comes from an engineering background, is to document your trading strategy, including; entries, trade management, exits etc…
Follow the strategy (in the form of steps or a checklist), upon trade review each week, you can edit the checklist if something is blatantly wrong. Put your faith in documentation. Works for me! 
1 Like
Very well said! This is definitely easier said than done, but it does have rewarding results. Keep it up!
yeah, first learn what you are oing then analyze it then do the corrections and stick to it, its more of a will power in my opinion, as long as you want to fix your bad habits then you should do fine
1 Like
Exactly, documentation does help…at the very least it should make a trader more aware of his mistakes and how to strategize more effectively…
1 Like
+1 on that. It really does help and I think it is the best way to work on improving your trading.
Agree on all points above. One useful trick is to concentrate on one bad habit at a time. It’s not the most efficient but it’s the most effective especially for those who aren’t used to detailed journaling
I am trading according to a plan. That will help me to become more discipline when trading markets.
Mh, im used to being considered rude and in general misunderstood by people who dont grasp the conept of sarcasm a.o. so if this goes down the wrong throathole dont bug me about it and read it for what it is since im not being sarcastic, im being real right now.
See, in school, people who get a degree come in several sorts. You have on one end the ones who get to cut class when they feel like it, show up hungover on a brainsurgeon oral exam and pass it with excelsior, right? You have the ones who can’t afford to cut too many classes and need to keep up with the studies and learn it by heart from a to z in order to understand, and you have the ones who couldnt actually do it but get there by sheer determination and learning everything a to z so they can recite it backwards even if they dont get it.
The first step is to find out which one of those you are
(the fourth category is those who dont make it so … you wont find out until you try heh heh heh, evil chuckle master has spoken)
Yes im afraid it is, since a lot of people (mainly from the fourth) consider this to be me saying im from the first, which i never said, let me make that clear
im a force of chaos, natures laws dont apply to me 
but i mean it, you HAVE to know yourself in order to find out what works best for you, there is no shame in being who you are as long as you max out the benefit gained from that knowledge
2 Likes
- [B]Accept[/B] that you are never going to win consistently over the long term by accident. Rules and procedures are part of your trading plan.
- Analyse your past performance and write down under what conditions you lost discipline in the past and what you did in those situations.
3)Write down procedures which allow you to avoid those conditions and situations preferably totally; or failing that; as much as possible.
4)Follow the procedures even when things are going great, only takes one slip to set off a chain of events.
5)The big picture is very important. Get caught up in the detail and forget about the big picture = account busted.
1 Like
My check list (not yours) :
- Never fall in love with your trade. Be ready to hedge, part of it or all. Closing instead of hedging may work also.
- Know why the market is moving, which way, and where it will probably stop/reverse.
- Be in the market to get the pressure, and scale up/down your total position.
- Be ready to get out or hedge during news or other events when you know it will spike uncontrollable.
- If the market is moving your heavy position, and you have confirmation something big is going on, then start making fun with the price within reasonable limits.
- Stop loosing time and get your damn program ready for testing (at least).
1 Like
On my opinion if you don’t have anough experience there is nothing to do here. You should learn a lot of informatino before start. Hope to gain my experience here and start trading!
Ok with you all about what to do. But nothing about what not to do? What were your errors and what did you do not to reiterate?
Try this. Just think this is a game of keeping patience and be disciplined. Dont think about money. Think about pips. Stay away from greed and fear thats what will make you disciplined and successful in trading.
1 Like
One of the best ways to maintain discipline in your trade is use in order entry method like the ninjatrader ATMs that allow you to place your by orders with predetermined stops and targets built in. This way the moment you fire off the order your stop loss in your profit targets automatically go with.
Another thing is the concept of letting your profits run. That’s a bad idea for the aspiring trader. Have a predetermined exit for a loss in a predetermined exit for a target and take them every time. Due to the lack of discipline in most aspiring traders letting your profits run turns into letting your losses run as well. And you don’t really gain as much because due to the volatility the markets likely will turn at the next S&R level. And run into your supposed to be trailing stop at probably the same point where your target should of been to start with.
1 Like
I know a guy who is a degree Masters student in financial behavioral psychology. It’s a really interesting area of study. Unfortunately you are a born trader are not according to a lot of the the work he has studied. You can improve your trading by sticking to rules but this only helps and does not guarantee success. If it did, all traders would make money.
These are some of the points i’ve noted as time went by from the forum
-
Develop and follow a trading plan: Having a clear plan can help you to make decisions objectively, rather than emotionally. Your plan should outline your trading goals, risk management strategies, and the criteria you will use to enter and exit trades.
-
Set limits: Establish limits for the amount of capital you are willing to risk on a single trade, as well as the total amount of capital you are willing to lose in a given time period.
-
Use stop-loss orders: Stop-loss orders can help you to minimize potential losses by automatically closing a trade when it reaches a certain price.
-
Avoid overtrading: Only take trades that meet your established criteria, and resist the temptation to constantly trade.
-
Take breaks: If you’re feeling overwhelmed or emotional, it may be helpful to take a break from trading to clear your head.
-
Seek out resources and support: Consider working with a mentor or joining a trading community where you can discuss your trades and get feedback from others.
1 Like
Set a daily profit goal and stick with it along with good money management, this is the major way to stay disciplined.
Improving discipline in trading is quite essential for traders because it helps traders earn profit on average without the hassle of facing any risk.