Have you ever had one for those days? Your charting software didn't work just right, your Internet connection was doggedly slow, and you forgot to read up on this week's latest economic report releases (go and check out our Forex Economic Calendar, why don't cha!), so you missed all the good opportunities. And the kids or doggies running around the house didn't help either!
All of these events are just a select few sources of stress that the active trader has to deal with. Not dealing with these episodes correctly, and letting them build upon each other, can make you feel overwhelmed. When you're thinking with a stressed mind and body, your mind isn't focused, and this can mean danger for your trading. It's utterly important that your head is clear and you are cool and composed while trading.
Prolonged stress can be detrimental to not only your trading, but to your health in general. Knowing that stress can have such an adverse affect on you, it's a good idea to find ways to curb your stress all together, or at least reduce it, for the sake of a better trading environment.
In my previous article I mentioned taking a vacation. This is definitely a great way to bring the stress levels down, but it may not always be practical or feasible (for various reasons such as money, time, family, another job, oh, and did I mention money?).
But don't worry!
There are plenty of other things you can do right now (without having to spend the dough) that are as effective at reducing stress.
Exercise! This is a no-brainer. And don't think you have to run out and buy a gym membership. Taking a nice brisk walk around the neighborhood during your trading down-time will do the trick. Exercise helps relieve the tension that builds up during your crazy trading sessions and it keeps your body feeling loose and fresh.
Forget the obsessive purchases at Starbucks or drinking a 2-liter of soda, by yourself... in an hour, sitting in front your computer. Caffeine can be great at times, giving you that boost when you need to stay awake. But it can also make you super hyper and elevate your feelings of panic at just the wrong moment. Trading is stressful enough by itself. Don't let caffeine add to the mix!
Express yourself. No, not in that way. I mean through communication. The stress you feel during trading is many times caused by something not going your way. And more than likely, some other trader has gone through the same exact thing. Hop on a Forex forum to discuss what's bugging you, or what's not working for you. You'll find out that just talking about your trading stressors can be a big help to reducing their negative effects on you. And you might learn something, too!
Don't stress yourself by trading outside of your skill level. Set clears risk limit and have realistic goals. When you're just beginning to trade, you want to keep your positions small. Trading beyond your skills will definitely make you more anxious about your open trades, and will more than likely result in your account balance taking a hit, causing even more stress!
Stress will wear your down mentally and physically if gone unchecked or untreated. Take the time to identify some of the things you currently do that help reduce your stress, or follow some of my suggestions to get you on your way.
Thursday
Concentrate or Lose Money.
You can be highly motivated to trade, have abundant capital, and a dummy-proof trading system, but if you don't apply your FULL concentration to the trade that you have on at the moment, you'll rarely make profits. It's imperative that you learn to concentrate while executing a trade and meticulously monitor the market while you're in the trade.
While in school did you have trouble studying in a noisy library or a crowded Starbucks? It's easy to concentrate when we are in a quiet room and when we are calm and at ease. But trading is often chaotic and full of stress. It's easy to become shaken and lose your ability to concentrate.
When you aren't fully focused on your ongoing experience, it's easy for self-doubts to creep into your consciousness. You may start having second thoughts and may want to sabotage your trading efforts.
The more you can stay focused on your ongoing experience, the more you can trade effortlessly and skillfully. But how can you concentrate more easily?
First, it's useful to remember that concentration takes psychological energy, and your supply of psychological energy has limits. If you want to maintain your focus, you must be rested and relaxed. Get proper sleep and nutrition. If you're tired or hungry, you won't be able to keep your mind focused on trading.
Second, it's important to control your stress levels. Stress depletes psychological energy. Even when you are excited rather than agitated by stress, your psychological energy is depleted a little bit each time you encounter an event that gets your adrenalin pumping. The best way to limit stress is through risk management. If you know that you are doing your best to keep potential losses to a minimum, you'll feel more comfortable and can focus most of your psychological attention on trading.
Concentration is essential for profitable trading. The more you concentrate, the more you feel you are in control. And when you feel your body and mind are in sync with the markets, you'll trade profitably.
While in school did you have trouble studying in a noisy library or a crowded Starbucks? It's easy to concentrate when we are in a quiet room and when we are calm and at ease. But trading is often chaotic and full of stress. It's easy to become shaken and lose your ability to concentrate.
When you aren't fully focused on your ongoing experience, it's easy for self-doubts to creep into your consciousness. You may start having second thoughts and may want to sabotage your trading efforts.
The more you can stay focused on your ongoing experience, the more you can trade effortlessly and skillfully. But how can you concentrate more easily?
First, it's useful to remember that concentration takes psychological energy, and your supply of psychological energy has limits. If you want to maintain your focus, you must be rested and relaxed. Get proper sleep and nutrition. If you're tired or hungry, you won't be able to keep your mind focused on trading.
Second, it's important to control your stress levels. Stress depletes psychological energy. Even when you are excited rather than agitated by stress, your psychological energy is depleted a little bit each time you encounter an event that gets your adrenalin pumping. The best way to limit stress is through risk management. If you know that you are doing your best to keep potential losses to a minimum, you'll feel more comfortable and can focus most of your psychological attention on trading.
Concentration is essential for profitable trading. The more you concentrate, the more you feel you are in control. And when you feel your body and mind are in sync with the markets, you'll trade profitably.
Concentrate.
You can be super motivated to trade, filled with deep optimism, have millions of trading capital available, and a solid trading strategy, but if you don't devote your full concentration to the trade that you have on at the moment, y
ou will lose money.
It's essential that you learn to concentrate while executing a trade and scrupulously monitor the market action during a trade
Why is concentration difficult? While in school did you have trouble studying in a noisy library? It's easy to concentrate when we are in a quiet room and when we are calm and at ease. But trading is often chaotic and full of stress. It's easy to become shaken and lose your ability to concentrate. When you aren't fully focused on your ongoing experience, it's easy for self-doubts to creep into your consciousness. You may start having second thoughts and may want to sabotage your trading efforts.
The more you can stay focused on your ongoing experience, the more you can trade effortlessly and skillfully. But how can you concentrate more easily?
First, it's useful to remember that concentration takes psychological energy, and your supply of psychological energy has limits. If you want to maintain your focus, you must be rested and relaxed. Get proper sleep and nutrition. If you're tried or hungry, you won't be able to keep your mind focused on trading.
Second, it's important to control your stress levels. Stress depletes psychological energy. Even when you are excited rather than agitated by stress, your psychological energy is depleted a little bit each time you encounter an event that gets your adrenalin pumping. The best way to limit stress is through risk management. If you know that you are doing your best to keep potential losses to a minimum, you'll feel more comfortable and can focus most of your psychological attention on trading.
Concentration is essential for profitable trading. The more you concentrate, the more you feel you are in control. And when you feel your body and mind are synchronized with the market, you'll trade profitably.
ou will lose money. It's essential that you learn to concentrate while executing a trade and scrupulously monitor the market action during a trade
Why is concentration difficult? While in school did you have trouble studying in a noisy library? It's easy to concentrate when we are in a quiet room and when we are calm and at ease. But trading is often chaotic and full of stress. It's easy to become shaken and lose your ability to concentrate. When you aren't fully focused on your ongoing experience, it's easy for self-doubts to creep into your consciousness. You may start having second thoughts and may want to sabotage your trading efforts.
The more you can stay focused on your ongoing experience, the more you can trade effortlessly and skillfully. But how can you concentrate more easily?
First, it's useful to remember that concentration takes psychological energy, and your supply of psychological energy has limits. If you want to maintain your focus, you must be rested and relaxed. Get proper sleep and nutrition. If you're tried or hungry, you won't be able to keep your mind focused on trading.
Second, it's important to control your stress levels. Stress depletes psychological energy. Even when you are excited rather than agitated by stress, your psychological energy is depleted a little bit each time you encounter an event that gets your adrenalin pumping. The best way to limit stress is through risk management. If you know that you are doing your best to keep potential losses to a minimum, you'll feel more comfortable and can focus most of your psychological attention on trading.
Concentration is essential for profitable trading. The more you concentrate, the more you feel you are in control. And when you feel your body and mind are synchronized with the market, you'll trade profitably.
Feeling Pressure? Take a Chill Pill. 0
You're like a deer in the headlight staring at your screens, frozen, and you don't know of what to do next.
You feel the pressure to perform. You haven't made a winning trade all week.
The bills are due and your checking account is running low. You don't know what you're going to do. You're becoming desperate and you swear to yourself "I'm going to push myself to make some pips."
Unfortunately, the more you tell youself this, the more stressed and more upset you become. Take a chill pill dude. Select a Nora Jones track on your iPod and kick back.
In these situations, it's natural to feel that you must push yourself to the limits to make a profit. Depending on your abilities and resources, be careful that you don't push yourself too hard. You might make matters worse.
Trading is a profession where you can convince yourself that your work is never done. There's always another chart to read, an economic report to digest, or a new trading strategy to create or test.
When it's been some time since you've made a winning trade, you start to feel that you absolutely positively must make a profit.
But unless you are a seasoned trading veteran, pushing yourself to the limits will only add to your frustration. Suddenly, you can't seem to get anything done. Applying additional stress on yourself doesn't always increase performance levels. Stress and performance work according to what scientists call an "inverted U curve".
Here's how the inverted U curve works in a nutshell. When a task is easy, like running around the block, a high level of stress enhances performance, but when a task is difficult and intellectually challenging, such as devising a profitable trading strategy, a high level of stress impedes performance.
Stress, even a small amount, saps up limited psychological energy. When you put stress on yourself to trade more profitably, you'll find that you start to feel a little tired. And if you push yourself too far, and go way beyond your abilities, you'll eventually exhaust all your stored psychological energy. And die. Okay, I'm just kidding.
When you feel stressed out because you are putting pressure on yourself, try reducing some of the pressure.
Tell yourself, "I'm not going to keep pushing myself. I'm just going to come up with a modest goal and work at it one minute at a time, and then maybe, one hour at time. I'll just give it my best effort."
See what happens when you try this thinking strategy. You'll find that you'll harness a little more energy just by simply taking some of the pressure off. Taking a break in the middle of a stressful day can also do wonders. Step outside, take a walk and soak up the sunshine. It will release some pent up stressful and negative energy.
You can also try a simple form of meditation. Go to a quiet place, and simply repeat this mantra, "I accept what I can get out of the market."
Repeat it over and over again. Concentrate on the words and let your worries about the markets disappear from your consciousness. You'll feel a little better, and you'll feel your energy level rise.
If you are a seasoned trader, pushing yourself to reach higher and higher standards of excellence can produce higher levels of performance. But if you are a novice trader, pushing yourself beyond your limits usually leads to frustration, stress, and eventual exhaustion.
When you have pushed yourself so far that you feel the pressure, STOP! Take a chill pill. Accept your limitations and relax. Ironically, you'll feel a little energy boost and will suddenly feel empowered. At that point, you'll be ready to tackle the foreign exchange market again, and grab those positive pips.
Brush up on your Forex Psychology.
You feel the pressure to perform. You haven't made a winning trade all week.
The bills are due and your checking account is running low. You don't know what you're going to do. You're becoming desperate and you swear to yourself "I'm going to push myself to make some pips."
Unfortunately, the more you tell youself this, the more stressed and more upset you become. Take a chill pill dude. Select a Nora Jones track on your iPod and kick back.
In these situations, it's natural to feel that you must push yourself to the limits to make a profit. Depending on your abilities and resources, be careful that you don't push yourself too hard. You might make matters worse.
Trading is a profession where you can convince yourself that your work is never done. There's always another chart to read, an economic report to digest, or a new trading strategy to create or test.
When it's been some time since you've made a winning trade, you start to feel that you absolutely positively must make a profit.
But unless you are a seasoned trading veteran, pushing yourself to the limits will only add to your frustration. Suddenly, you can't seem to get anything done. Applying additional stress on yourself doesn't always increase performance levels. Stress and performance work according to what scientists call an "inverted U curve".
Here's how the inverted U curve works in a nutshell. When a task is easy, like running around the block, a high level of stress enhances performance, but when a task is difficult and intellectually challenging, such as devising a profitable trading strategy, a high level of stress impedes performance.
Stress, even a small amount, saps up limited psychological energy. When you put stress on yourself to trade more profitably, you'll find that you start to feel a little tired. And if you push yourself too far, and go way beyond your abilities, you'll eventually exhaust all your stored psychological energy. And die. Okay, I'm just kidding.
When you feel stressed out because you are putting pressure on yourself, try reducing some of the pressure.
Tell yourself, "I'm not going to keep pushing myself. I'm just going to come up with a modest goal and work at it one minute at a time, and then maybe, one hour at time. I'll just give it my best effort."
See what happens when you try this thinking strategy. You'll find that you'll harness a little more energy just by simply taking some of the pressure off. Taking a break in the middle of a stressful day can also do wonders. Step outside, take a walk and soak up the sunshine. It will release some pent up stressful and negative energy.
You can also try a simple form of meditation. Go to a quiet place, and simply repeat this mantra, "I accept what I can get out of the market."
Repeat it over and over again. Concentrate on the words and let your worries about the markets disappear from your consciousness. You'll feel a little better, and you'll feel your energy level rise.
If you are a seasoned trader, pushing yourself to reach higher and higher standards of excellence can produce higher levels of performance. But if you are a novice trader, pushing yourself beyond your limits usually leads to frustration, stress, and eventual exhaustion.
When you have pushed yourself so far that you feel the pressure, STOP! Take a chill pill. Accept your limitations and relax. Ironically, you'll feel a little energy boost and will suddenly feel empowered. At that point, you'll be ready to tackle the foreign exchange market again, and grab those positive pips.
Brush up on your Forex Psychology.
Run Your Own Race.
Many years ago, horsemen invented blinders to keep their horses focused on their work. Blinders are pieces of leather attached to the horse's bridle that prevent them from seeing anything except what's in front of them.
Without blinders, a horse can see almost completely behind itself without turning it's head and can be easily spooked by movement or objects it doesn't recognize. By having fewer distractions the horse is more dependable and stays focused on getting the job done.
As a trader, I always discovered that whenever I started comparing my trading performance with other traders, my performance would usually worsen. This "distraction" cost me lots of money in terms of losses.
While I hardly watch television, I admire Oprah Winfrey so I watched an interview of her on the Biography channel one day. She and the interviewer were discussing her success and she made the comment that comparing herself to other folks in her business always made her take a step backward from her goal. Her words made me realize that even highly successful people experience this.
Don't compare yourself to others. It's tempting in the modern, competitive world to constantly ask, "How am I doing?"
It's easier said than done, but you should NOT allow how well you do compared to others affect how you feel about your inner worth and feelings of success in life.
Comparisons are useless. Run your own race.
Like the sport of golf, you alone are the one who needs to hone your trading skills. You are the one who must find a method that matches your skill level and personality. Comparisons to other traders just make you feel frustrated.
Don't constantly think you are trying to beat others to an imaginary finish line. People who achieve great things work independently and on their own terms.
They don't care how others are doing. They follow their own timeline, follow their own passion, and look INWARD for where to go next.
Notice how I said inward, and not outward. They look inward for where to go next.
How you perform has nothing to do with how others perform. All comparisons will do is torture you. You will feel jealously or envy.
When you see that you are doing relatively poorly compared to a fellow trader, you are likely to think distracting thoughts such as, "Why can't I do as well?" or "I must not be as good of a trader as I had thought."
To maintain motivation, focus on improving your past performance record, rather than looking at how other traders are doing.
You usually don't know what factors created their performance records, so comparisons can only mislead and hinder you. They could just be on a lucky streak or have a market wizard standing right behind them on every trade providing advice.
Put your "blinders" on. Don't look at anyone else's record but your own. Everyone has a different learning curve.
Without blinders, a horse can see almost completely behind itself without turning it's head and can be easily spooked by movement or objects it doesn't recognize. By having fewer distractions the horse is more dependable and stays focused on getting the job done.
As a trader, I always discovered that whenever I started comparing my trading performance with other traders, my performance would usually worsen. This "distraction" cost me lots of money in terms of losses.
While I hardly watch television, I admire Oprah Winfrey so I watched an interview of her on the Biography channel one day. She and the interviewer were discussing her success and she made the comment that comparing herself to other folks in her business always made her take a step backward from her goal. Her words made me realize that even highly successful people experience this.
Don't compare yourself to others. It's tempting in the modern, competitive world to constantly ask, "How am I doing?"
It's easier said than done, but you should NOT allow how well you do compared to others affect how you feel about your inner worth and feelings of success in life.
Comparisons are useless. Run your own race.
Like the sport of golf, you alone are the one who needs to hone your trading skills. You are the one who must find a method that matches your skill level and personality. Comparisons to other traders just make you feel frustrated.
Don't constantly think you are trying to beat others to an imaginary finish line. People who achieve great things work independently and on their own terms.
They don't care how others are doing. They follow their own timeline, follow their own passion, and look INWARD for where to go next.
Notice how I said inward, and not outward. They look inward for where to go next.
How you perform has nothing to do with how others perform. All comparisons will do is torture you. You will feel jealously or envy.
When you see that you are doing relatively poorly compared to a fellow trader, you are likely to think distracting thoughts such as, "Why can't I do as well?" or "I must not be as good of a trader as I had thought."
To maintain motivation, focus on improving your past performance record, rather than looking at how other traders are doing.
You usually don't know what factors created their performance records, so comparisons can only mislead and hinder you. They could just be on a lucky streak or have a market wizard standing right behind them on every trade providing advice.
Put your "blinders" on. Don't look at anyone else's record but your own. Everyone has a different learning curve.
Run your own race.
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