"I think there is only one quality worse than hardness of heart, and that is softness of head.
" -Theodore Roosevelt Are you able to bend with the ever changing market? We all know what happens to a tree branch when it cannot bend: it will eventually break.
When a nasty storm comes along, the branch may be battered and thrown about until it snaps off.
However a branch that is able to bend will be much more likely to survive the storm.
It will still be thrown about, but it will be flexible.
That flexibility gives it strength.
It takes far more to break a branch that will bend than one that is stiff and brittle.
You must become the flexible branch if you want to learn how to trade for long term success.
Always Evaluate Your Position In order to make yourself flexible in the stock market, you must always know your position.
The market is a constantly changing beast, and that is one that that will never change.
You must learn to move with it through knowledge.
When you know where you stand, you will be equipped to make good investment decisions.
Each piece of information will help you add another joint to your flexibility, allowing you to bend in more places if necessary.
Even the most seasoned trader will still look at his or her situation.
As the market changes, there could be improvements that need to be made to their investment plan.
Making the right changes at the right time will make you resilient and improve reaction time when the market shifts.
Throw Away Fear It is wise to be cautious, but not fearful.
Someone who is afraid will not make sound decisions about their investments.
For example, a trader who realizes that they have sunk their money into a failing trade may be afraid to admit to the reality of the situation.
Their solution may be to ignore it and leave things as they are.
It is a passive way of ignoring fear and avoiding the inevitable.
This can make things much worse.
Rather than coming up with a new plan and acting on it to improve their situation, they instead remain aboard the sinking ship.
Do not let fear freeze your ability to react.
Everyone finds themselves in a money-losing situation at some point.
The ones who come out of it on top are those who learn to throw away fear, admit what is happening and take action to change their situation.
Manage Risk and Lower Stress When you learn how to measure and manage risk, you will be much better off in the stock market.
Trading has a lot to do with risk.
When you can identify a situation that poses more risk than you can comfortably handle, you can possibly avoid losing a lot of your hard earned investment funds.
Being capable of managing risk will also lower your stress levels and help you make good choices while investing.