The trading profession offers an opportunity to anyone with some money to turn it into lots of money in a very short period of time.
That is why so many people are drawn to the trading profession in the first place.
The lure of easy money is a dangerous trap to fall into.
That is why only five to ten percent of people who enter the trading arena come out on the other end as winners.
The reason for this is that trading is a mental game.
It is not physically demanding for sure but it definitely demands a lot of emotional energy from the trader.
That is why it is said that trading is 90% emotional and only 10% physical.
Those that succeed in trading have a certain psychological DNA present in them that is not present in all those who venture into this profession.
Let us briefly examine some of these psychological traits found among the very successful traders.
Professional traders do not suffer from performance anxiety.
They are not anxious when they make money and are not anxious when they lose money.
They plan their trades and execute them in real time without any form of fear.
They know when to take their losses or book a profit and do so when the time for it comes.
They do not jump out of a position because it starts losing money right away and neither do they take profits before their targets are met.
Professional traders are not perfectionists either.
They know that they cannot be right on each and every trade they take.
They know that the market is always right and have deep respect for the market they trade all the time.
They do not set very high goals for themselves and are comfortable getting to the approximate value of the goal in a timely and disciplined manner.
Professional traders know the dangers of excessive trading very well.
They know when to take a trade and when to sit on their hands when the market is not doing what they expect it to do.
They are not afraid of losing out on an opportunity when it presents itself either.
They know there will be many more opportunities down the road.
They will never take a trade out of boredom or one that does not meet their entry criteria.
They are not afraid to take their setups whether they trade one contract or one hundred contracts at a time.
They build up their trading size gradually knowing very well that the amount of risk increases as well.
Professional traders just focus on trading and the goals that they set for themselves during trading.
They do not worry too much about the losses when trading or the profits.
They do not let the monetary issues of trading affect them.
They trade the size that fits them well.
They know that profits will follow a well executed trading plan almost always.
Traders that lose are the ones who pay too much attention to every dollar made or lost while trading.
Lastly, professional traders know when to stop.
They will walk away from the screen for a few minutes or even the entire day or week at times.
They know that emotional trading can lead to massive losses.
That is why they will stop trading right away if any kind of negative emotions start to creep into their minds.
Even the slightest doubt in their mind will make them stop trading right away.
They know to keep their brain only as active as needed to recognize a setup and take it without fear and for nothing else whatsoever.
They always maintain a state of tranquility while trading but are well aware of what needs to be done in an adverse situation as well as they are constantly training themselves to do so mentally.
Just as athletes are always prepared physically for their game, professional traders are also always mentally well prepared for their game at all times.