“If you want to make money in the markets, you have to build real faith in yourself as a trader, and believe in your winning methodology after doing the necessary homework.” –Steve Burns
It is important for new traders to have faith in themselves and their trading plan. If you don’t have confidence in yourself, you will be unable to implement your plan or find trading success.
Believe in yourself.
First, you must believe in your ability to follow your plan. If you don’t have faith in yourself, fear will always undermine your confidence and success.
Do your homework. Successful traders create plans when the markets are closed, to give them clarity and guidance when the market is open. Creating a detailed plan in advance will decrease the risk of psychological factors negatively impacting your trades.
Make a commitment to your plan. New traders must commit to following their plan every day, regardless of how they feel, how much money they want to make, or their confidence in any single trade.
Be disciplined. Faith is built over time, day after day, by proving to ourselves that we will make the correct decisions. Discipline gives birth to confidence, which breeds success.
There is no such thing as a successful trader that lacks confidence in their abilities, or in their trading plan. By doing the necessary homework, creating a written trading plan, and being disciplined enough to follow that plan, confidence and success will follow
Faith that you will take your entry signals
Having confidence in yourself and your plan means that you will be able to take an entry signal when it is triggered. Open-mindedness is required, and uncertainty must be embraced; every trade has the potential to be a winner or a loser. It is important to understand that the outcome of a trade is not a reflection of whether you should have made the trade, it is a critical lesson in your growth as a trader.
Confidence in your entries Don’t be afraid to trade. No one can know the outcome of a trade. What we do know is that by following a plan, a trade can be a small winner, a big winner, or a small loser. Removing the possibility of a large losing trade from the outset will help you make the trade with confidence.
Focus on quality. Focus on the quality of the execution of the trade. Take the signal when triggered. Don’t front-run or chase a trade after it is too late. The quality of your trade entries will have a large impact on whether you find success as a trader.
Be open to profits. Be ready to take the right entry. Failure to take entry signals based on your trading plan can cost you in the form of missed gains, regret, and loss of faith in your own ability to execute.
Stay true to your plan. Your trading plan is only as good as your ability to execute it.
Keeping an open mind, looking for good entries, and having the faith to execute those entries, will put you on the road to trading success. Embrace uncertainty and limit a potential loss.
