We hear that psychology plays a very important part in the life of a trader and their trading success.Ultimately,

that means that the trader themselves is the key to either getting eaten up

and spit out by the markets or beating the odds and making some solid

money.

It is a pretty large responsibility trader’s face. There is nobody that

they can point the finger at.That does not mean the traders don’t try though.

Some seem to find a few things to blame for their failure:

They blame the broker for running stops (because they have zero idea

how the markets actually work).

They blame the system (the shiny new object always catches a “traders” eye).

They blame bad advice from a forum

or they blame the news.

One of my personal favorites is blaming the trading strategy when that

exact same strategy is working very well for other trader. Some even go as far as doubting the claims made of the

strategy for the one single reason……that they failed.

It’s easy to have faith in yourself and have discipline when you’re a winner, when you’re number one. What you

got to have is faith and discipline when you’re not a winner.

– Vince Lombardi

You see it a lot in every day life. People who can’t do always assume that someone else can’t do as well. People have an entitled mentality

which makes them think that because they want trading success….they

should have trading success.

Where can you find trading success? Trading, at the core, is a meritocracy.

You earn your success.

Let me ask you…..have you ever started the day off on the wrong foot and as the day progressed, bad things

“just” kept occurring?

How about having to attend a function even though you hated the idea of

going? You arrive and while everyone else is having a great time, you just

can’t rise up.

Your state of being has a huge impact on what comes your way and as a trader you had better keep in tune

with your “state”.

You are only going to perform as well as you are feeling especially when your

trading has a discretionary side to it. One thing novice traders have a hard time with is calming the emotions of fear and greed. They take a loser and then they end up becoming a trading

loser.

Sounds harsh? Taking revenge type trades and tossing

your trade plan out the window is what is truly harsh. Losing your account due to stupidity and an unprofessional attitude is harsh.

If you flame out in trading and do some soul searching, realizing it was

your own personal failings can be devastating.

It has been proven that what you say to yourself has an impact on how you perform in life. It impacts on how you

feel.

One of the best things I have ever heard was that it does not matter

what happens to you…but on how you respond to what happens.

You can either take the high road or dig yourself into a hole. I want to share an exercise with you that I was given a

long time ago and has had a strong impact on me. You can choose to do it or simply go about your usual habits.

I’d like you to write down 15 things you love about yourself starting as

many as you can with “I am”. As an example: “I love that I am forgiving”. After that, write down 15 things that

you are grateful for.

Make this a daily mantra for yourself and the goal is to bring focus and

clarity to all the good things about you and what you have in your life. During your trading hours, have a copy taped

above your monitor.Trading Money

Every time your thoughts turn negative or your self-talk says how

“stupid” you are, repeat out loud what you have written.

You can take this a step further and have another one listing all the

positive attributes of a successful trader.

As an example, you can write: I am a successful trader because I stick to my trade plan I am a successful trader because I control the emotions that can affect my success I am a trading success because I think and act like a professional

The words “I am” are very powerful and you can either choose to use them

in the negative or the positive. Personally, using them in the positive

makes much more sense to me.

Remember, trading is a meritocracy. It rewards the prepared. If you happen

to be one of the many traders still searching, hook up with some solid

education and strategies such as those found at Premier Traders University.

There are also trade rooms full of people like you – people looking for the edge with experienced traders – when you are part of the Netpicks

trading family.

I strongly urge you to try the exercises I have written about. Remember, in trading and life in general, you earn

your success. Keep the foundation which is you, solid. What do you have to lose?