This is a guest post from Tino @tradersreality. This article originally appeared on tradersreality.com and is reposted here with permission.
It has been a while since I last posted. I have been doing some soul searching, exploring previous trades that went wrong and how I could have improved the accuracy of my entries and exits.
The one thought that goes through every traders mind when they enter this game: “When will I get to the stage of consistency?”
The Stages Of Growth…
I have said it before, quite simply, trading is something that you develop into. You will experience many pitfalls. Do not make the mistake of thinking that experience alone will lead you to success. Education is crucial.
Let’s take an engineer. Engineers trial and error many ways to develop the product they are working on. No matter what it is. Whether they are developing a new lighting system, new car seat, or simply anything that can be used to make life easier for people.
As generic as my example is, the practice can only be executed effectively if you have the education in place. E.g. you can be trading for 10 years and still lose, yet you realize after so long that your lack of education in the field of trading is costing you so much money.
So you are probably wondering how does a trader grow?
A trader will only evolve when they start to eliminate certain beliefs about the way they see the markets and the reason behind why they are trading. This is the most important factor that must be addressed.
You can have the best system in place, it can be profitable, however if your beliefs are not in line then it will be a matter of time before you see those three little zeros on your trading account.
Our beliefs are the only concepts that prevent every trader from growing. If we fail to change our beliefs, then we simply set ourselves up for failure. We will blame our system, our lack of more capital, even other things like the weather or your dog or your mother in law. EXCUSES EXCUSES EXCUSES.
“The Markets Work Differently From The Way We Perceive Them”
The way a trader grows is simple. Expand on your education of how the market works. Then apply this. If you lose money still, that is fine. Give yourself a decent sample size before you change your methodology.
The mistake most new traders make is they practice “ITM” This is an acronym for “Insane Trading Methodology”
This occurs when a trader repeats the same mistakes and bad habits on every methodology he chooses and expects different results, thus leading to jumping from one method to another.
I experienced this. I was continuously losing money with every system I tried. It was only when I started to realize that the market works completely different to the way we perceive it. I educated myself, I changed my beliefs so that I could embrace the new education that would help me develop my trading.
Credit goes to Yvan Byeajee. Without his content I would not have changed my beliefs that were destroying my chances of succeeding in trading. Yvan’s course allowed me to address the mental blocks that were preventing me from truly growing as a trader. The course will allow new traders to cross the mental hurdle that will continuously prevent you from moving to the level of consistency that will generate returns.
If you do not have a sound framework, then you have no foundations to fall on when times are bad.
With guidance you will prevent any bad habits that will eventually install themselves into your every day trading , thus causing the same three zeros occurring in your account balance.
You can follow Tino on twitter at @Tradersreality and visit his website at tradersreality.com.