Making money through trading is possible, but not everyone succeeds. You have to have a tried and tested trading system, and be willing to learn as you go. And while forex training is the only surefire way to ensure your success in the market, here are three things that are crucial for sustainable growth.
Set goals, plan a strategy, and stick to itÂ
In trading, as in life, a well-executed strategy will nearly always beat a random guess. But executing a strategy requires discipline. And discipline starts with setting clear goals.
Goal setting is critical to an account’s success. So, it is worth taking the time to develop a strategy to achieve your goals. But like any strategy, it works best written down. Here are three simple steps you can take to set, track, and adhere to your goals.
Define your goalsÂ
Decide what you want to accomplish with forex trading and how much money you need to make. Do you want to work part-time or full-time? Do you have other responsibilities that might distract you from your trading time if you plan on trading full-time?
Goals are an effective way to crystallise your trading plans, so make sure you set reasonable and achievable profit goals. And stick to them!
Design a trading planÂ
Every strategy requires a specific set of rules. And the beauty of forex trading is that you can set your plan of action. From determining your tools to tracking and recording your activities, your strategy should be all-inclusive.
Stick to itÂ
You’ve got the trade plan. You’ve created your checklist. Now you have to stick to it. In order to avoid making costly mistakes, and interfering with the psychology and emotions during your trade process, sticking 100% to your trade plan is one of the most important factors.
Keep up with daily and weekly forecasts and forex trendsÂ
One of the reasons forex is so popular is that it is one of the few markets where you can make a significant amount from a relatively small investment of capital if you compound your accounts. That’s how so many traders make thousands of dollars a day.
But while forex trading certainly has its share of opportunity, it is driven by many other factors, such as geopolitical events, countries’ economics, data releases, and many other factors. And if you don’t know what you are doing, you can quickly lose money. So, you should be willing to put in the work to grow your knowledge and skills.
Here’s how you can do that.
- Leverage the forex market – Forex is a worldwide market, which means you can trade anywhere in the world, which means everyone follows the same rules. So, you can take help from the global community. Since every trader has unique experiences, you can gather a wealth of knowledge from individual and collective insights.
- Research your trades – Successful traders don’t just follow market trends; they research those trends, dig deep into the whys and hows, and corroborate it with their learnings to conclude their findings. Above all, they understand the factors influencing those trends to trade their strategies according to the forecasts.
- Learn more about volatility – A great way to limit volatility is to leverage knowledge and profile your risks per the forecasts. But for that, you need to invest time educating yourself about this aspect of trading. Since volatility is forex trading 101, expanding your knowledge on this subject and following the trends should be your priority for scalable success.
Learn to manage your emotionsÂ
When you first start trading, your emotions will control your actions. Call it a newfound passion or greed or fear. Many new traders often end up overtrading and making rash decisions.
Don’t fret! It is human nature to make emotional decisions, especially when money is involved. For example, countless traders find it hard to resist taking a smaller position, even if the market isn’t moving in the direction they expected. And it leads to significant losses.
But it is part of the process because as your profits and experiences grow, your trading style is bound to become more refined – sometimes, more conservative.
That being said, waiting for your emotions to release the reins isn’t the wisest strategy for scalable growth. You need your rationale to take charge of the situation as early on as possible.
Since emotions cloud your judgment, the first step toward becoming a successful trader is to become disciplined. Here’s how the experts do it.
Don’t let your ego affect your tradingÂ
When your emotions run high, it is easy to let your ego get the best of you. Your inner voice might tell you that it knows enough about trading to win the markets, or your trading system is foolproof, but decisions driven by ego are only profitable for a short period. This approach can’t be used as a sustainable strategy to move forward as it does not allow you to calculate risks or mind the forecasts.
Don’t trade when you are frustratedÂ
Trading is stressful, and this can affect your judgment. It can lead you to make what seem like logical trades at the moment but turn out to be bad decisions in the long run. Get yourself in the habit of taking a break from trading whenever you are frustrated or feeling highly strung. Trust us; you will thank yourself!
Don’t blame the market for your mistakesÂ
One of the biggest mistakes traders make is not acknowledging the pattern in their erroneous trading approach. It is natural to make excuses but successful trading is all about holding yourself accountable for your actions. That’s the only sustainable strategy for growth.
Use charts and data to support your decisionsÂ
Trading can be lucrative, but if you let your emotions get the better of you, it could ruin you financially. So, don’t rely on gut instincts when it comes to money. Besides, the forex community is quite supportive. If you are unable to use data in your trades, you can always ask for help.