It is usual for traders to need to start turning a profit. It’s possible that the trader is out of cash. Or suppose he works for a company like SMB Capital and the company wants to see him start to advance.
The trader is up against a brick wall. The trader must stop performing below expectations. The trader must demonstrate to a firm that he can do this and/or to himself.
Our company has one trader that is in this situation. He has said he needs to start demonstrating his improved abilities. And he complies.
As a trader, this time doesn’t feel wonderful. It is quite challenging. You’re miserable. You worry about failing and may even incorrectly experience it. You worry that you’ll have to give up what you adore for something else. You are very ashamed of your poor performance, which is just unacceptable. It’s all awful, really.
But it does occur. It has also happened to traders who have gone on to achieve enormous success in the market. To traders who have become extraordinarily prosperous. Certainly, it has occurred at our prop company.
Even though you are up against a wall, you still have a chance of succeeding. It implies that you must improve. It implies that you must now work harder. right now. Today. and the following day.
You might be wondering, “How is this possible?” How in the world is a trader going to just turn things around if they are underperforming? A few do. A trader may need to start acting when they are up against the wall.
I requested a trader who has been there before to give some guidance to this one trader at our company. Here is the advise from a trader who, before becoming successful, was just like the trader with his back to the wall. This is nothing less than gold trading advice.
That guidance on how to begin performing from a successful trader to a firm trader
I told him that I was in precisely the same circumstance as he was at the time. It’s not a pleasant feeling at all, and it may be very emotionally taxing. Being a great trader was all I desired, but I just couldn’t seem to figure it out. Nothing seemed to be working, I was very unconfident in my abilities, and at times it looked like there was no hope. But this is nothing that you or anyone else can’t get through. I formerly occupied the same seat as you are right now, and I’m so glad I didn’t give up.
Every successful trader needs persistence, which is also a crucial life trait. Nothing is ever simple, but if you don’t give up, failure won’t seem so frightening. You must find a way to make trading profitable if you truly want it to be your career. The risk of giving up was never really an option for me since it exceeded the risk of getting extremely good at it.
I am definitely not a great trader yet. That’s what thrills me, and that’s what ought to thrill you as well. The beginning is always the most difficult part, and trading is a case in point. Before the possibility of being laid off materialises, we only have a brief window of opportunity to determine where we fit in. I’m confident that I’ll be significantly better in a year, three years, five years, and that you will be as well. This, in my opinion, applies to everybody who is passionate about development and market research. Growing and improving should be enjoyable, both in and outside of trade. Trading may teach you skills and lessons that you can use in your daily life in addition to being financially lucrative.
Read also: Top Trading Lessons You Should Adopt
One in particular has stood out to me: discipline. I yearned to excel at all aspects of trading and cherished the notion of being a well-rounded trader who could switch gears with ease amid various market conditions. This was one of the key causes of my severe struggles in the early years of my career. I wanted to accomplish so much so quickly, but it was simply not possible. Although it takes time, this is still one of my objectives. This requires observing many market situations, and I lacked the necessary discipline or knowledge to be trading everything.
Even if what you want is fantastic, there are actions you must do to get there. Nobody has ever effortlessly transitioned from a beginner to a great. It necessitates persistence, control, and time. I started out with very little of some of those things. Therefore, I would advise you to attempt to view things realistically. I completely realise that where you are right now, this can be quite difficult. I was aware of my struggles and my difficulty in identifying my strengths. That’s OKAY. It’s crucial to remember that everyone advances at a different rate and to avoid comparing yourself to others.
This is especially true today that the company has a lot of talent. You should be happy that so many new guys are succeeding rather than comparing yourself to them. For many people in the past, this was not the case. You ought to use them since they are an excellent resource for everyone in this room. This is all just a drop in the bucket is the one thing I kept telling myself while I was really struggling. The difficulties I currently face will spur growth in the future. My current difficulties will help me become more resilient in the future. The difficulties I currently face will make me mentally stronger than those who did not experience as much hardship. In a few years, I’ll have improved so much that I won’t even remember the person I was before. And the more proficient I become, the more appreciative I will be that I persisted and didn’t give up.
I didn’t understand everything right immediately, but that’s okay since I liked the challenge and still like the goal of improving every day. The only person holding yourself back from growing is you. You are the worst version of yourself you will ever be. As a result, you must take a step in the right direction, concentrate, and compete. The three items I’ve stated here are what truly helped me develop consistency in my trading, so hopefully you can learn something from them that will help you trade better in the future. These were appropriate areas to concentrate on going future, we both agreed. These are what they are:
1.) Trim the fat from your trading—Now is not the time to try new things or experiment. Look at your statistics and identify the ONE or two areas you excel in. What business do you operate? What are the circumstances, traits, market dynamics, etc.? Just accept these trades. Now is the time to prove to yourself that you can make only one wise trading decision per day, rather than experimenting and expanding your playbook later.
Seeing the ball go into the hoop alone may do a lot for your confidence and spirit. There was a time when I was only making one trade each day at most. You’d be astonished at how quickly things can pile up if you just concentrated on making one solid trade per day and let things compound.
2.) Develop self-control and patience. I used to struggle with these traits, but I’ve been working on them over time. I understood this wasn’t a sustainable method to develop a trading profession, therefore I never wanted to be a one-trick pony and only trade one setup in one market setting. Even though I desperately wanted to trade everything, it was first impossible. Once you establish consistency in one area, you may expand, and that confidence-boosting consistency is essential. In order to acquire consistency, discipline and patience are crucial. My metrics were all over the place since I was trading far too many setups in far too many different names. It wasn’t that I couldn’t succeed in one endeavour; rather, it was more that I desired to succeed in several. I would repeatedly spend my time trading poor setups on names that had no historical advantage. The danger of being fired was the only thing that kept me from doing this.
3.) Concentrate on your approach—concentrate on what enables you to trade at your best. This takes the shape of a checklist for me. I don’t consider P/L. I have put a lot of effort into my trading so that I can eliminate the emotional component of P/L and only concentrate on making wise choices. My procedure functions as a mental checklist that keeps me out of problems and on the correct track. I do this to prevent emotional side effects from having an impact on my trade as I scale because the things I think about are absolutely unrelated to P/L. I’m concentrating on the following:
The most important task is risk management. I simply assume that I will be incorrect in every transaction I make, which enables me to mentally accept losses as expected rather than as a surprise. Although competing and wanting to win are important, it’s even more crucial to recognise when you are mistaken and what that can entail. This enables me to recognise the exchange for what it is and to avoid becoming overly predisposed to a concept and insisting that it must occur, etc.
What kind of trade is this, exactly? Is that a skull? A swing, perhaps? Is it a play about the market? How would the type of trade this is, etc., affect my sizing?
Similar ideas apply to position management. What do I want to gain from this trade? What are my objectives and why? What do I need to see to keep the job?
Market environment: Is the current business climate favourable for this kind of trade? Why? why not
How did my mindset change throughout this trade? Was I delirious? Was my aggressiveness lacking? also inquire as to why and how to proceed in resolving the issue
