If you want to trade you have to be a great manager of STRESS. Stress will break you if it is not managed. If you enter a trade and your heart races and your foot starts tapping there could be many different issues going on. You could be trading too big. Your stress level could be warning you that you have no idea what you are doing. You could lack confidence in the long term profitability of your trading system or even not have faith in yourself as a trader. It is crucial that you get to the root of the problem and bring down stress levels. Stress is very unhealthy for you, it can burn you out, and make you not want to trade anymore. Trading other people’s money brings on a new kind of stress with new pressures from your investors and regulators, is it worth it? Trading for a living can amplify stress up to a whole new level because now it is not just for money or your ego but for bills. If you have a family to support from your trading then it is not just about your bills but your self worth as a provider.Consider the stress and responsibility carefully before taking it on. Be very aware of what you can currently handle and if you are really ready for it at this time.
Travel your trading path carefully understanding the pressure you are putting on yourself and crawl before you walk. Start trading small amounts of capital and move up slowly in increments and build up your comfort level. Have so much confidence in your entries and exits that they do not stress you out because you were simply following your plan and the market will do what it does. Have position sizing and planned losses small enough where your mind stays in control and your emotions stay out of the picture. If you have trouble following your trading plan then your are probably trading too big or have other motivations from your ego or bills influencing your decision making process. If you accept your losses with no rise in blood pressure you are doing it right, if you can’t take your eyes off a quote screen for 7 hour straight you aren’t doing it right. Your actual live trading should be as boring as possible the vast majority of the time like running a business.
If you have a robust trading method, and can manage your emotions, and have the behaviors of a successful trader then don’t mess it all up by putting so much stress on yourself that you break under the pressure.
