All traders are unique. There is no one size fits all automated trading system. Build your system based on your beliefs about the markets and according to your trading plan. It’s also easy for the seller of the system to create an unrealistic track record through over optimisation. The system may promise success but fail hopelessly in real world conditions. Blaming the system for your failures is too easy. Take responsibility and build it yourself.
Making excuses instead of taking full responsibility for your actions, thoughts and objectives is a recipe for failure.
As an intra-day trader you simply have to take full responsibility for your trading in order to succeed. Consistently blaming others, the market, the Fed, your broker, the politicians or any other influence on your trading will result in unprofitable trading.
“Man must cease attributing his problems to his environment, and learn again to exercise his will – his personal responsibility.” - Albert Einstein
As in life, taking responsibility for your trading is vital to achieve the correct mind set and ultimately success in your trading.
It is far easier for us to blame external forces for our mistakes than to look inward and take responsibility. I remember once many years ago, holding onto a losing short trade that I should have closed earlier. Some negative US economic data was released and I was expecting markets to move down in my favour. Despite the data, markets kept going up and I eventually exited at a huge loss. I blamed irrational market participants, regulators, pension funds, market manipulators or anyone else I could think of. I should have blamed myself as the only real problem was that I did not close the position at my predetermined stop loss level. Everything else was meaningless. It was my error that caused me to lose money and I needed to accept that before I could improve as a trader.
The reality of being a day trader is that if you want to achieve consistent profitability, you have to start from the premise that no matter what the outcome, you are solely responsible for your success or failure as a trader.
There are a few things that you can implement in your trading to ensure that you take responsibility. Start by building your own automated trading system; don't rely on one that you buy off the shelf. This way if the system is not as successful as you expect, it is your responsibility to improve it. If you did not build the system yourself it’s too easy to blame the person who sold it to you and that won't help your trading.
All traders are unique. There is no one size fits all automated trading system. Build your system based on your beliefs about the markets and according to your trading plan. It’s also easy for the seller of the system to create an unrealistic track record through over optimisation. The system may promise success but fail hopelessly in real world conditions. Blaming the system for your failures is too easy. Take responsibility and build it yourself.
Build a rules based trading system and stick to it. This will reduce the number of external factors that can influence your trades.
Rationalising trading mistakes through blaming other factors is not going to overcome problems. However, rationalisation is such a strong defence mechanism that most of us experience it from time to time. Our emotions play an important role in our decision making process when trading. This is due to the nature of markets and the fact that we are putting our own hard earned money into it. It is just so difficult to not get emotional and rationalise your decisions. If you are having trouble in this area, consider automation of your trading system as a viable alternative. If automation improves your trading then you will know that it is the psychological aspects of trading that have been holding you back.
Trading is a profession. Treat it as a business to achieve success not as a hobby, hobbies cost money. Take responsibility for your emotions, decisions and your trading in order to achieve success in the markets.
Get a Life by Automating Your Trading
After analysing this period in my trading history I discovered that although I had been making more errors, the worst thing about being so tired and anxious was the marked reduction in my ability to remain disciplined in my trading. The more tired a trader is the more difficult it is to follow his trading plan.
What is the Future of the Markets and How Does Automated Trading Fit In?
Regulation of financial markets is increasing as they become more complex and computer driven. This is to the advantage of small investors who require legislation to protect them from unscrupulous operators and so called insiders. A more regulated environment means a better trading experience for automated forex traders.
Three Easy Steps to Day Trading Success
Forex trading should be broken down into three easy steps in order to succeed in overcoming the complexities and become a consistent and profitable trader.
