In trading while we have zero control over the long term moves in the markets we have 100% control over our own actions. It is not the market movements that will ultimately decide whether we win or lose but our own decisions. It is not a matter of what the market is going to do but what we will do in response to that movement. It is not the choppiness of the market that makes a trader lose but the trading decisions that he made in the midst of the chop. New traders may get lucky for awhile and bad traders may win big in the short term but in the long term the market gives every trader exactly what they have earned. While traders can win in the long term with many different types of robust trading methods a trader with no self control will not even survive long, they will not be able to make a plan and follow it, they will let fear and greed over take their mind and end up with large losses and the belief “trading is just too hard” but trading is not hard what is hard is self control, discipline, focus, and keeping the ego in check.
What a trader can control:
- Their entry.
- Their exit.
- Their trading plan.
- Their emotions.
- Their ego.
- Their method.
- Their position size.
- Whether to trade or not to trade.
- How much you are willing to risk per trade.
- Themselves.
What a trader can not control.
- Market movements.
- Volatility.
- The trend.
- Whip saws.
- Political decisions.
- News Headlines.
- Macro economics.
- Every other traders decisions.
- The future.
- The past.
One key to trading is to only focus on what you can control, do not worry and stress about what you can not control, and most importantly, be able to know the difference.