Stop Fiddling Around With Your Trades, Its A Trap!
Fiddling around with your trades can land you in a mess if you are not careful. It is a trap and it can bring out ugly emotions. You can even find yourself doubting if forex is a scam or not – “the ugly emotions” type.
Before anything, Let’s first identify and define the types of traders that exist out there. 1) Swing traders. They hold positions for days and even weeks. They trade higher time frames like the H4 to D1 to Weekly charts. 2) Long term traders. They hold their positions for weeks to months. They trade high time frames as well. 3) Day traders and Scalpers. They hold their positions for a few minutes to a few hours or even a full day. They trade time frames like the H1 chart down to the one-minute chart.
For this blog, I am going to be talking from a swing trader perspective because that is my chosen trading style but I believe the same knowledge should apply to all types of traders.
When you have open trades that have a set stop loss and take profit, do not be checking the trade every 5 seconds. This can be a huge trap to your emotions because each time you see your positions running in the negatives, you will end up second guessing yourself. You will think too much. You will ask yourself numerous questions like “What if I am Wrong?” “What if this trade keeps on losing money?” “Should I close it and lose this little bit than to let it go and lose half of my account?” You will find yourself not being able to decide properly as if your brain has stopped or frozen.
These contradictory questions open a door for emotions and irrational thinking to get the better of you. A lot of traders in this instance will start being scared and very fearful of their hard earned money that’s on the line. They will quickly start closing trades with losses only to find price having moved in their initial direction later when they check. They will then, regret why they closed the trades whereas they could have been patient for some time and could have made money. The trader would then mourn the loss of their money and get very worried as to what will happen in their next trade. If ever they will win or lose again. Fear will step and a trader will doubt himself/herself.
The real trouble will come when a trader keeps on placing trades that keep on losing time and time again. This time fear will gain its strength in the mind of a trader and hopelessness and despair will follow suit. In this situation a lot give up. Others will think if it is ever possible to make money in forex or if forex is really not a scam. All of these ugly emotions stem from fear and many other mistakes. It is this fear that we should address so to be free from it.
As a trader do you relate to these emotional mistakes? Share your story with us in the comments section below. I believe it will be an eye opener to other traders as well.
Frankly so, that’s it for this blog. I hope you found value in it. Be on the look out for the next blog where I will talk about how to demolish this fear.
Otherwise, Lets chat directly on the socials!!!
