“The truly successful traders are incredible discipline fanatics. Presumably, it’s not even enough to be more discipline than the average person. You just need to be in the top 10% group. Self-discipline causes the trader to place certain obligations on himself.” – Christian Lukas
Being disciplined enough to do what are rights in the markets doesn’t always make us look smart. The trader who doesn’t use stops may look smart when the price comes back to his entry level, yet he’ll have to blame himself when the price on one pair/cross refuses to come back to its entry level. When do you think the AUDUSD will go back to the psychological level at 0.6000?
The trader who uses stops may look stupid as he sustains small roll-downs on his accounts, especially when the price goes back in his direction after getting stopped out. Yet, the stops will, one day save him, his career and his nerves. Someone who uses excessively big position sizes may look cute when he gains huge profits with small price movements (whereas huge losses are possible with small price movements). Whoever uses small position sizes to get small profits would be derided as using minuscule lots, whereas minuscule lots would lead to only negligible drawdowns in bad market conditions.
A trend follower needs self-control to ride his winners. Planting is similar to long-term career in trading. A planter plants the seeds and employs patience for the ultimate results – harvesting. As the seeds grow, he patiently tends the sprouts. It takes as long as necessary for seeds to grow into trees. A speculator looks for a signal that meets his entry criteria, and then opens a trade accordingly. He manages his trades until an exit criterion is fulfilled.
A sane planter knows it’s unrealistic to look for instant harvest, because certain conditions must be fulfilled before harvest can take place, neither can he force premature harvest. If a speculators misses a signal, he’ll be disciplined enough to wait for a new signal. Trending markets are formidable: one should flow with them, not against them. The financial markets are thus formidable, so we need not resist its flow.
What should we do, then? We just need to be disciplined enough to avoid trading styles that aren’t in our best interests and embrace those that ensure our long-term success. Trading psychologists help in achieving this. Are we disciplined enough to obey simple winning rules? Writer Julie A. Link said: “When I was young, I thought the cost of living in my parents’ home was too high.
Looking back, I laugh at how ridiculous it was to complain. My parents never charged me a cent for living at home. The only ‘cost’ was obedience. I simply had to obey rules like clean up myself, be polite, tell the truth... The rules weren’t difficult, but I still had trouble obeying them. My parents didn’t kick me out for my disobedience, however. They just kept reminding me that the rules were to protect me, not to harm me, and sometimes they made the rule stricter to protect me from myself.” Successful trading rules are there to save your accounts and your nerves, and make you realize your goals in the end. These rules would be mentioned in future articles.
We are grateful that a wonderful instrument like Forex is available for us, for it has many blessings inherent in it. It rewards the disciplined. Disciplined traders have maintained crucial priorities in their career, and they’ll stick to other important aspects of trading. There are winning trading principles that have stood the test of the time, and disciplined traders stick to these principles even though the principles are not perfect. Disciplined traders believe they’ll be great in trading (with realistic expectations). They eventually become market wizards
Commending the Disciplined Trader
Your trading plan is clearly stated,
Offensive and defensive weapons are with you at the war front,
Profits come to you easily,
You are an expert who remains unperturbed
Survival is the real winnings
You react to profit and loss in the same way
No matter what your open orders do
Your experience helps in selecting great signals:
Here is your opportunity!
Please show them you are a victor
For you have always been victorious!
Conclusion: Lack of discipline will cost us something. Can you now see why discipline is crucial to your success? To be aware of this is a great step towards your personal evolution as a successful trader. As it’s often said, “To be conscious that you are ignorant is a great step to knowledge.”
“Trading is simple, but it isn’t easy. There are many obstacles and challenges. Do you have that attitude of courage, tenacity, perseverance and determination to start each trade afresh, regardless of the outcome of the previous trade?” – Paul Wallace
Read The Cost of Discipline - Part 1 >>>
