It never fails. Five minutes into a car ride kids always seem to ask, “are we there yet”. And then they ask again, five minutes later. It doesn’t matter if the journey is 15 minutes or two hours. “Are we there yet” is on replay. They might not even know how to tell time or even understand the concept of time, they always ask WHEN?!?!
In some respects, traders are like these kids–obsessed with time. They’ve made a significant investment in education, funding the trading account and time spent trading (sometimes years) and yet struggle to achieve profitability. They think “I should have this by now” or “what’s wrong with me that I don’t have this yet”. Their thoughts become primarily focused on the time they’ve spent trading. And then they beat themselves up for not getting “there” by an artificially imposed deadline.
The ability to master trading is not dependent on time. Learning the skills and putting in the time does not guarantee results. There are plenty of people profiting from the market right now. They are likely not spending one minute of their time thinking about time.
It’s not about time. Or your trading ability. It’s about triggers.
What are triggers? The things that make you deviate from your trading plan. It’s whatever stops you from taking the loss. Your behaviors are the barriers. Knowing the mechanics of trading is the easy part. But it’s not enough. Being able to recognize and move past your triggers–the thoughts, beliefs and emotions locked in your subconscious–is what will turn your trading around.
If you’re ready to stop thinking about time and start working through your triggers, message me to schedule a complementary Turn Your Trading Around call.
Creating Enlightened Traders 