I firmly believe that what truly separates the 5% of winning traders from the 90% that lose and 5% which are at breakeven is the “Trader’s Mindset”. The vast majority of traders think they want to trade until the losses hit them over and over and they just can’t mentally and emotionally handle it and end up quitting entirely.
I believe the following ten principles separate the quitters from the winners in the stock market.
- They accept losing trades quickly but it does not define them, they learn and try again. The next trade will be more wise than the last one.
- They compartmentalize emotions by not blaming themselves but understanding the historical expectancy of their systems returns.
- They have a bias toward action by constantly doing things that move them closer to their goal of being a rich trader. (Homework, chart study, reading, being mentored, back testing, etc. )
- They change their minds sometimes, they know when to stop doing something that does not work and move in the direction of trading success through new lessons. They learn what type of trading is right for them.
- They prepare for things to go wrong through risk management and position sizing instead of just going naively toward their goals they are ready to make adjustments as needed.
- They’re comfortable with discomfort, they will accept losses and draw downs in their method, they are willing to pay tuition to the markets to get to where they want to be.
- They’re willing to wait, they patiently improve each day setting themselves up for those winning trades that will be very profitable in the future.
- They have trading heroes that inspire them to be better than they are now and give them the hope of achieving their dreams.
- They have more than passion they are on a mission, their desire for success gives them the drive to not quit until they win.
- They know only time separates them from their goals of success in the markets.