Adewole Olaiya Martins

Overconfidence Overconfidence is another emotional pitfall that makes some day traders lose their money. Such investors assume that good times will last forever. They irrationally believe that a rising stock will always be like that for all time. There will always be different factors that have the capacity to alter the price of stocks drastically. Such factors include panic selling, political unrest, overheated stocks, among others. These factors can spike the rate of stocks, which will have to be adjusted so that things will return to the norm again. Some investors know that the boom is irrational and will soon come down, but they will still put their money there. Such people will end up paying dearly for their folly when the market becomes corrected, and the prices go back to normal. Hence, the best you can do for yourself is to buy such stocks while the price is spiked up and sell them off as soon as possible before times change again. There is no point deceiving yourself when you know that good times don’t last forever. You do have to learn that by experience because by then it will be too late because you would have lost money already. Obsession with a single deal You can also be deluded to become obsessed with a particular transaction. Sometimes, you begin the day’s trade, and you see a specific deal that looks profitable, which you become obsessed to clinch. You will not be making the right decision that way. It is always better to look out for other deals first and weigh your options before arriving at a conclusion. When you make a business decision patiently and thoroughly, you have a higher chance of making the right decision rather than when you make a decision hastily. Never forget that there are always many profitable deals that you can do within a day. So, why get fixated with a particular one when other juicy options are waiting for you. You will feel bad about yourself if you discover later on that there were other great offers you could have invested in later on after you have hastily invested in less profitable security. Hence, don’t allow yourself to get overawed by your emotions, make trading decisions with a clear head. You will be smiling to the bank more frequently when you are a day trader who has a penchant for making trading choices via critical thinking devoid of emotions. Your emotions are not dependable; they becloud your judgement and make you are susceptible to wrong decisions. The ball is always in your court; you can always choose to be objective with your preferences or allow your feelings to get the best of you and subject you to wrong choices which only leads to regret. Psychological traits of Successful Day Traders There are some quality psychological traits that are found in successful day traders. As much as there is no guarantee in the world of business, people who possess these traits to have a higher chance of recording regular success in the world of day trading which is full of opportunities to enrich yourself. Below are the psychological characteristics that distinguish successful day traders from mediocre day traders: Discipline Disciplined day traders are like diamonds among stones; they shine consistently. There is no point making an attempt to get involved in day trading if you are not a disciplined person. The truth is that discipline is the most important psychological trait that will enable you to succeed as an investor in day trading. It takes discipline to follow through on every principle that is needed to make you succeed in day trading. For example, it takes discipline to choose to be objective when making decisions rather than depending on how you feel. It takes discipline to set out time to read quality and necessary materials such as this current book. You have to be disciplined to let go of a high-risk deal that has the propensity to make you lose a considerable part of your investment. If you are not a disciplined person, you cannot be diligent enough to follow market trends, which will help you make good trading choices. You must be disciplined to decide not to invest your significant capital into day trading but instead chose to invest with your spare money. I can keep going on and on but will never be able to exhaustively discuss the role of discipline in your success in day trading. The essential information you need to keep to the heart is that it is impossible to succeed in day trading without a good level of discipline. There is no other way around it because it is the foundation upon which other psychological traits of successful day traders are built. Patience Day trading is like a racing car; you will need speed-breakers to avoid crashing. Patience is like a speed-breaker for the flying car day trading always threatens to become. There is so much activity within a day trading that sets your pulse racing. Sometimes, it is almost as if you are playing a strategy video game where you overcome obstacles and meet your objective. There is no doubt that day trading is super exciting. However, you need to be careful because of this excitement. There is a high tendency that you let the excitement get the best of you and make you make decisions at the spur of the moment. You will not be happy with yourself when you make trading decisions without thinking twice. You have twenty-four solid hours to make a choice and not five minutes! Hence, take your time! Don’t just flow with the erratic pace of the day’s trade, calm your nerves and make decisions with a clear head. There are going to be a lot of things and people trying to make you make quick decisions, but you need to be in control, and that is why you need to be disciplined as earlier stated. If you feel like you are under pressure to make a quick decision, you are not sure of, take some deep breaths and think again. There is no rule that says that you must clinch a deal right now! You can even sleep off and trade the following day if you are not sure you are in the right frame of mind to make a decision that day. It is better you make a business choice that will make you have little profit rather than make a decision in a hurry that will make you lose so much money. Adaptability The ability to adapt to a new environment shows that you are intelligent. Day trading is a new terrain completely, especially for newbies. Hence, you must be flexible, learn quickly, and adapt as soon as possible. You will only end up losing your money more often if you are rigid and stubborn as a day trader. The truth is that no matter how much helpful tips you read, you will still make some mistake as a day trader. Hence, you need to forgive yourself and see it as a learning curve. Take the lesson and throw away the disappointment. Great day traders are not weird people who are infallible; they are people who are adaptable enough to learn from their mistake and reinforce themselves for future challenges. In case you adopt a day trading strategy that is not working for you, let it go and chose another one based on the recommendation of experts. You will have many opportunities that you can explore on your road to financial independence in day trading. However, you will never be able to make good use of these opportunities if you are not ready to adapt and make the necessary changes that will catapult you to the next level. Mental Toughness Mental toughness is the signature of a determined heart. Life is full of both days of excitement and the bad days when things will not go your way. Day trading also has this same propensity to both make you happy and make you sad. There will definitely be days when you will clinch great deals that will make you feel on top of the world. If you think that you will only have such pleasant days, you are living a lie. There will also be days that you will lose money either because of your errors or because of other factors you cannot control. When those sad days come around, you need to be mentally strong enough not to allow them to weigh you down. It is true that you have lost money, but it is also true that you still have myriads of opportunities to make some cool cash. Mental toughness will make you rise again anytime you fall. Successful day traders are people who have refused to allow themselves give up during bad days. They keep their hope alive and rise again. Day trading is not for people who give up easily. When you listen to successful day traders, you will see a common theme in their story: they have all been through hard times, but they never gave up. Independence Successful day traders are also independent. They believe in their ability to succeed and do not rely on others do for them the things they need to do by themselves. They have high self-esteem, which gives them the platform to trust in their ability to make a rational trading decision. When you are independent, you will be less influenced by other people. You will not be tossed around by the mind game that exists in day trading. Independence reflects confidence. When you are independent, you will appear too dependent people as a “proud” person. Independence will make you believe that you only need to do what other people who have succeeded or are succeeding in day trading do to attain your success as well. It will make you less emotional and more rational. It will make you act and think like a boss. You are free to trade at your convenience as a day trader which puts you in charge of your business franchise. However, you will lose the freedom that day trading offers you when you are not independent. Being independent does not mean that you should always discard the advice of other people. If that is what it means, it will also mean that you should not listen to the suggestions of financial experts. After all, these experts are also other people! Hence, being independence is all about being able to make your decision without disregard for objective opinions. Take home points You cannot succeed in day trading if you don’t win the battle of the mind day trading bring your way. There is more today trading than meets the eyes. Hence, you have to make good use of your mind and act wisely. You will have a lot of opportunities to earn more money via day trading, but you must be ready to pay the price. You need to be emotionally healthy to be a force to be reckoned with in the exciting world of day trading. Hence, strengthen your resolve to succeed as a day trader by training your mind. You need a clear mind and a lot of sanities to be one of the numerous people who have improved the quality of their lives through wise investment in day trading. A new world of endless opportunities awaits you in day trading. Do you have the mental resources to cope effectively and take advantage of these opportunities? Time will tell. There is no one that can stop you from succeeding as a day trader unless you stop yourself. You have access to every resource that will make your journey smooth and slick. Don’t allow fear to stop you. You can never know how much success you can attain until you try. A life of greatness awaits you.