Thursday, July 23, 2009

Handling Stress while Trading

Self-control: Keeping disruptive emotions under surveillance such as extreme fear or feeling of absolute immunity and the impulses that do not meet your trading plan.

Trust: Maintaining adequate standards of honesty and intellectual integrity, based on a proper training and the predetermination of the actions to be taken in situations of gain or loss.

Consciousness: Assume the responsibilities of business, and the fate of its operations.

Adaptability: Flexibility to accept changes in the market and positions.

Innovations: Accept the new information or new perspectives, expectations, or ideas that are better suited to new situations

As for handling stress, taking regular breaks will help fight it. In difficult times it is advisable to change rooms, and renew energy, preferably outdoors. The practice of respiratory exercises is also highly effective, helping to lower the decibels and think clearly again. Accepting one owns limitations also help ease the tension. Pressed with ambitious goals to take profits and limiting ones capacity only generate more frustration, which markedly reduces productivity.

Discipline

Every-trader will be solely responsible for their own decisions and actions and must face the consequences. This requires great discipline and ability of acceptance. Self-knowledge is as important in forex trading as the knowledge of the facts, economic theories, news, and methods. For it is not strange to see how many times the emotions prevail, forgetting any tools, and indicators. People who have self-control and discipline over their emotions are more likely to emerge as winners.

It is not easy to make a self-analysis to identify our strengths, weaknesses and personal tendencies because by nature, our perspective is subjective. To achieve this requires willingness to be completely honest with ourselves and accept the results of looking inside ourselves. Admitting our mistakes is very beneficial both in trading and in life itself, and will enable us to understand why we lost and how to avoid that situation next time. It is possible to isolate weaknesses and work on them, as it is possible to review and work on our trading methods.

Within the discipline is the habit of information. A professional trader should be used to checking market information on a regular basis (reading news, subscribing to newsletters and alerts, checking indicators, etc.)… This will give you the confidence to operate on the basis of accurate and objective information, which along with the strategy put forward to avoid falling into despair and impulsive actions that could lead to their losses.

So, discipline involves:

Training. Draw and follow a training plan that would provide all the required expertise

Self-analysis. Perform a thorough analysis of our own strengths and weaknesses, to exploit the work of our strengths and work on our weaknesses

Planning. Draw a business plan, including strategies and trading methods

Objectives. Achievable and measurable targets. Check frequently and compare with results, analyzing the reasons of differences among both.

Information. Check market information and indicators on a regular basis.

Self-control. Practice stress management techniques and emotions. Self-recognition of one’s own emotions.

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