Success in trading depends not only on experience and knowledge but also on many other factors. Some of them are difficult to influence, such as luck or sudden turmoil in the markets. Others, such as emotions, can and should be controlled, since they can be both a powerful stimulus for progress in any business and an equally mighty obstacle.
The Role of Emotions in Trading
Each person has a range of emotions that manifest themselves most often. Some of them can help you succeed in trading, for example:
- Interest and curiosity are pushing you to scrupulously study all the features of the profession.
- Courage and confidence give resoluteness in applying risky strategies.
- Perseverance and passion forge endurance with a fairly intense load during short selling Forex.
- Faith and optimism give strength to continue to improve, even when something has gone wrong.
However, negative emotions can also interfere with the usual course of events and lead to ineffective actions:
- Fear and self-doubt do not allow traders to go beyond cautious decisions and apply risky but profitable strategies.
- Greed does not allow to stop at the line followed by losses.
- Despair deprives a person of the strength to continue trading after temporary setbacks.
The Importance of a Trading Plan
One of the secrets of balancing emotions in trading is the timely switching of the brain to rational thinking mode. Activation of mental activity calms emotions and allows you to look at the situation clear-headed.
For rational thinking to have support, it must be based on a plan made in advance. Moreover, it is important to develop both a long-term plan and a short-term one:
- The long-term sets the benchmarks that mobilize all the trader’s resources, including mental ones, to achieve an ultimate goal.
- The short-term is an essential component of moving towards a distant goal that sets the rules for achieving it.
Recognizing and Managing Emotional Triggers
For control over emotions, it is important to recognize and neutralize those events that provoke an instant emotional reaction. A negative emotional reaction is immediately followed by ineffective actions, for example:
- If a trader feels insecure after a loss, they may start to close open orders early, which does not allow them to get enough profit.
- If, on the contrary, several successful deals in a row brought a trader into a state of euphoria, it may provoke undertaking too risky decisions.
Therefore, during the trading session, it is important to scan your emotional state and remove distortions both towards pessimism and excessive excitement and delight.
Setting Realistic Goals and Expectations
Trading emotions can and should be grounded in reality. To do this, it is important to objectively understand the principles of making a profit from trading. The Forex market is extremely attractive in terms of making a profit and, therefore, highly competitive. Millions of other traders enter the market with the same aim of achieving success and gaining revenue.
They often use advanced automated Expert Advisors, the performance and intellectual perfection of which are many times higher than human ones. You can also choose the best MT4 robot to help you fulfill strategically grounded orders and balance your emotional extremes. Unfortunately, a person often acts under the influx of emotions, and not at the guidance of their intellect. While the robots are immune to emotions and meticulously follow a predetermined strategy.
Summary
With regard to trade emotion, every novice trader may encounter a situation where a strong surge of emotions distorts an objective vision. If they are not calmed before action is taken, the results can be highly counterproductive. And to learn how to manage emotions, it is important to follow three basic rules:
- Stick to your trading plan even when the situation is tempting to deviate from it.
- Periodically scan your emotional background to identify deviations and recognize emotional triggers.
- Check your expectations with reality, realizing that only expectations can be corrected but not reality.
If you accept these rules as a guide to action, emotions originating from the subconscious sphere will become available for conscious observation. Their power over you will weaken, and they will not be able to control your behavior.
