Why commitment is probably the most important factor in successful trading

There are quite a lot of factors that influence your trading performance. Naturally, you want to be successful. That is why you should get the necessary knowledge about the market, about the platform, you should learn different trading techniques and build a reliable strategy. But you cannot forget about emotional aspects and commitment. Today we will talk about trading commitment.

What is a trading commitment?

A trading commitment is a state of being dedicated to your trading. It is when you follow your trading system when you are confident and full of trust. The effect is a consistency of profit. Sounds nice and easy? Well, you will encounter many obstacles on the way, and sometimes you may feel like giving it all up. What to do then? I will present you with some tricks, but before that happens, let me discuss some difficulties you may find in your trading journey.

The obstacles to trading commitment

Not having a business plan

Some traders treat trading just as a hobby. This does not support commitment. When you consider trading as a business, you will prepare better and become more involved. Having a business plan should improve your results greatly.

Professional traders keep their trading diaries daily. They take notes about trades and circumstances around them. Reviewing a notebook helps to catch mistakes early and adjust strategy, so it works better. Prepare the plan, and you will make the first step.

Waiting for the adrenaline rush

The situation in the market changes constantly and often unpredictably. This awakens many emotions. Some traders just jump in occasionally awaiting the shot of adrenaline. It may be a pleasant feeling for a moment, but such trading is not backed up by knowledge and deep preparations. Emotions cloud judgment, and it is quite easy to make a mistake. Trading for the adrenaline hit is the enemy of trading commitment.

Fear of losing

Losses are a normal part of trading. Even professionals experience them. But committed traders have an adequate approach. They cut the losses short. Their trading plan includes the amount of money they are ready to lose in a day or trade and they place the stop loss accordingly.

Many beginners are so afraid of losing that when the price turns against them, they freeze and wait for the price to reverse. It will eventually happen, but before it occurs, the price can fall significantly and those traders may be forced to sell at the bottom. This way, they lose more than they would if they have sold earlier.

Being lazy

Trading requires you to commit time. But some are too lazy, and they want fast results. When something does not work, they are too lazy to analyse the situation, draw conclusions and do better next time. They just give a method up, shift to something new and when this does not work… Well, they resign again.

You need to work on a problem in an organised way. It takes time.

Dealing with the lack of trading commitment

Now is the time I reveal some tricks that might help you when you are about to lose your trading commitment.

The first thing you can do is to identify the problem. You cannot work on it if you do not know what it is. Keeping a trading journal will help you a lot in this task. You will be able to review your past doings and reflect on the decisions you have made. Maybe you keep positions too long, or maybe you sell too early? Perhaps you hesitate too long before entering the market? What emotions accompany you when you hit buy or sell buttons? Make a list of the issues you found and introduce changes to your trading.

Use your imagination. This is a very powerful weapon. You can, for example, imagine that it is not you who enters the trade. Think about a friend, mother, or professional trader you know. What would this person do in your place? What would you advise them to do? Such thinking helps you to look at the situation from a different angle.

You can also use imagination to work on your approach to losing. Every time you face a loss, and experience fear and anxiety, imagine you are on a losing streak. Or that your loss is extremely severe. What would happen then? How would it make you feel? After that, your fear of taking a small loss should diminish significantly, and you will be able to make more appropriate decisions.

Summary

Committed traders perform better. Nothing can guarantee 100% success in trading, but you can do quite a lot to improve your results. It is not an easy path, though. You will need to invest your time and be attentive.

Not being prepared, trading in emotions and laziness are the enemies of commitment. Keeping track of your trades and having a plan are allies. There is also great potential in your mind. Use your imagination to your advantage. Your imagination can truly help you to deal with some problems.

Before you invest real money, monitor your performance in the Olymp Trade demo account. You can come back here to test any new indicator or strategy you come across. The account is free of charge. Use it as a training field.

Stay committed!