Hello, my name is Cheng and I am from Hong Kong. Besides being a civil engineer I am also a very excited new forex trader. I have been learning on how to become a trader and at the same time working on a strategy for the past 12 months, but in my book that still makes me a beginner. It took me four years of studies to earn my engineering degree and I learned that trading forex is the same as any other profession. This means I will happily study another three years until I get to a proficient enough level to call myself and advanced forex trader.

Many people prefer to rush into a new venture, have little knowledge but expect huge rewards. I came across forex trading after I suffered the worst sports injury of my life. I played basketball with my friends after work and unfortunately tore my Achilles tendon. I refused to go to the hospital until one week after my tear, got a cast and crutches and was told that it will take six to eight weeks to recover from this plus another four to six months of rehab. This meant my basketball playing days were over for the next few months.

After work, as my friends head to the court I need to fill my time with something productive. Recovering from an injury is as much a mental battle as it is a physical one. Once I started to venture into forex trading, I soon realized that here too mental strength is required in order to succeed. A lot of mistakes traders make originate from a point of mental weakness. There is a lot of information traders need to digest and often a lot of emotions are involved as we are human being and not machines.

Therefore mental strength is required in order to process the data and make rational decisions in a fast moving market. So in order for me to be successful as a forex trader, I needed to exercise my mind and get strong. The good news about my sports injury was that it forced me to get stronger in order to recover faster. When the doctors told me that I would be unable to play basketball for six months I refused to accept that just as I refused to accept those who told me that trading forex successfully is not possible.

After two weeks into my rehab, I accepted the dual challenge of getting back on my feet and to get on the right track to become a profitable forex trader. It was a slow start for me as I went back and forth between a positive roadmap and doubt. Doubt is one of the biggest enemies to anyone who seeks to become successful. It sounds easy to just overcome doubt, but it really requires a lot of hard work and exercise to do so. Your subconscious is listening in to your brain which makes it even more challenging.

Meditation is one great way to overcome doubt as well as fear. Prior to my injury I mediated occasionally, but never on a consistent basis. Now I try to incorporate it into my daily life. I like to take 20 minutes per day for this. Again, in the beginning this seemed like a long time and I spend more time waiting for my mediation to be over than actually doing it. It started to change in week two and I can’t exactly pinpoint what caused the change. Maybe my stubborn repetition caused my mind to go along with the program rather than fighting it.

I noticed that my physical recovery went a lot faster than my doctors expected. I also noticed that I learn new things a lot faster and that I became a much stronger person mentally. This has really made all the difference on my journey in the forex market. In addition to meditation I like to exercise my brain through games like Sudoku and chess. I also play strategy games on weekends. Physical fitness and a good diet also help you increase your mental strength. I am trading a live account at PaxForex and all the volatile price action moves don’t cause panic fear and emotional reactions. I take positive action, view them as a great trading opportunity and keep growing my trading account.