Tackling Your Flaws and Becoming a Better Trader

Posted by Nick 9 Comments

What are your flaws?

I have quite a few flaws myself.

1. Easily distracted
2. Lack direction
3. Vengeful and quick to anger

You would think these three traits would take a massive toll on my trading, but they don’t. They don’t because I do not let them. I put a lot of effort into not letting my flaws ruin my trading. I am going to be honest with you. This was an immense task for me and had I not tackled it I would not have been a successful trader. In this article, I am going to show you how I conquered my flaws.

All of us have flaws that can interfere with the success of our trading. It is unfortunate but it is a fact. Successful traders are not people who were born to be traders, they are normal people like you and me. They have their flaws and they battle them, in order to keep trading successfully. One of the many things that sets a successful trader apart from an unsuccessful trader is successful traders recognise their own flaws.

Do you know your flaws?

If you don’t you need to figure them out. It is not a hard job. You should know yourself well enough to know your flaws. Maybe you’re a little too vengeful and take revenge trades. Maybe you’re too fearful and you are afraid to enter the markets. Whatever your flaws are, take some time now to figure them out in your head.

Got them? Good!

Now it’s time to get a piece of paper (or open up your word processor) and write them down. Start by just writing in one or two words what your flaws are. Here is an example of my list:

1. Easily distracted
2. Lack direction
3. Vengeful and quick to anger

Once you have done that it is time to expand on the flaws. Just write in a sentence or two how the flaws effect your trading. Here is an example of my list:

1. Easily distracted: I tend to start playing PC games or watching movies and miss trades.

3. Quick to anger and vengeful: When a trade doesn’t go my way I can get pretty angry and take revenge trades. These trades more than often do not work out and affect my account balance.

Ok now your flaws are all written down and you can see how they affect your trading. For me, this was a real eye opener. When I first had this list in front of me, a few years ago, I realized how much these things were actually impacting my trading.

The next step is for you to write down a solution to each of these flaws. Now I can’t help you with the solution to your flaws, only you can know that. However, I can show you an example of mine:

1. Easily distracted: I tend to start playing PC games or watching movies and miss trades.
Solution: Get rid of my PC games for the time being and stop downloading movies.

2. Lack direction: Some weeks I trade but some weeks I just can’t be bothered and I spend the week lazing about. When this happens, for too many weeks, I lose my edge and it takes time to get back into the flow of trading.
Solution: Write out a trading plan which sets out weekly and monthly targets. Exercise some discipline and stick to my plan.

3. Quick to anger and vengeful: When a trade doesn’t go my way I can get pretty angry and take revenge trades. These trades, more than often, do not work out and affect my account balance.
Solution: Write out a trading plan which sets out the type of trades I take. Set out rules to govern my trading. When I lose a trade I need to step away from the computer and have a 5 minute break. That way I can come back with a clear mind.

The next step is to not just forget about this list but to read it weekly, and put those solutions into action. Good traders know their weaknesses. So if you want to succeed, make it easier on yourself and recognise your flaws.

Tags: forex, forex analysis, forex profit, forex trading, forex trading education, free forex education, free forex signals, gbp/jpy, plan, targets, trade update, trading plan, weekly analysis

FlashBack

Nice Nick B – you got it, brings new light to ‘get your head in the game’ !

thanks mate,
FB
Philip

As a beginner, my biggest flaw is the fear of trading, or more particularly the fear of losing. I appreciate that you can’t win every trade but I would like to win the first few. I therefore look and wait for the 100% winning trade just to be successful to start with and to give me the confidence to continue. The trouble is any trade has it’s inherent risk so find reasons not to trade, so effectively don’t trade at least not often and have missed many great opertunities to win, but when I do trade my success rate is poor.
Still I really enjoy following your e-mails etc and hope eventually to get the hang of trading before my money runs out.
Kyle

Encouraging stuff here Nick, we all have the freedom of choice…habits don’t die easy but it can be done as you have shown yourself.
Tony

Philip, I know what you’re saying. In effect you would like to win the first few so you are playing with your profit rather than your capital.
The only answer, as Nick has said, is to have confidence in your plan and trade it.
Keith

I think it all goes a lot deeper than this Nick. I have recently bought into a course about one’s state of mind when you trade, which focuses not only on your flaws, but your entire state of mind when you approach, are in and then exit, a trade. It clearly requires discipline to trade successfully and I fell into the trap of being afraid to take a trade in case it lost. It helps to have a plan detailing all you need to know about your chosen system highlighting all the rules for entry and to have tested that plan on demo beforehand. When you are confident with your system and everything falls into place, take the trade. Having followed this ethos last week, I took the trade and made 40 pips. Maybe not a lot in the scheme of things, but my first successful trade, executed in accordance with my system. Boy, did I feel elated afterwards!
Anyway, enough of me – keep the good work up and maybe we can all become more successful traders!
http://www.forex-newbie.com Forex beginner

I do not fear in trading. I make quite a bit in the stock market, especially the last few days, market has goes up like nobody business. My problem is too careful in forex trading.. I used to think a lots before I can make a simple decision. Thus, I call myself a forex beginner. Lot to learn still.
aks

Hi Nick,

I purchased your video course in December,I downloaded it and have been watching it from the browser over the last few months. In the last few days I have tried to access it by trying to view it,I get to the page listing all the titles of the courses but when I click to view from Browser the videos do not open up any more. It directs me to the log in page of forex4noobs as if I am trying to view it as a guest.
Can you help?

Look forward to your response.
aks

Hello Nick,

Just found the answers to my query re: my video course.

Thanks.
folly

Hey!fine Nick,
You got it, my flaws is same as yours, thanks for the eye opener, i will caution my self henceforth.