The biggest enemy successful trading faces today is not the market, other traders or investors, the economy, or any other outside force.
The major danger is YOU; your emotions and human weaknesses can easily get you broke.
We hear it every day and it is very sad: the average investor is always looking to buy at the top and sell at the bottom. People normally chase the trend and the next “big” thing, and by doing so, they end up being crushed.
In fact, greed and fear drive most of investors’ decisions nowadays.
Even though it is widely said that markets are rational and investors make rational decisions based on earnings reports, price-to-earnings ratios, or technical analysis, the truth is that markets are not rational.
We’ve experienced unbelievable global volatility, a flash crash, and powerful short-term rallies and falls, without any rational reason in terms of corporate profits, economic reports, or political events.
This has happened simply because greed and fear are taking today’s markets on a wild and extreme ride.
Why greed? Well, basically because people want to make money.
Why fear? Well, here it gets a little more complicated. There are two kinds of fear: the fear of loss and the fear of being left behind.
The key to being a successful investor is to control your greed and your fear, and here we give you 7 rules to help you do that:
1. Don’t overtrade
It is very common to see investors overtrade to look for better results or to limit loss, and they end up paying too much in commissions or getting whipsawed by short-term market twists.
2. Don’t assume too much risk
Greed makes investors undertake dangerous risks, be it through options, leverage, investing in unsafe companies, or taking extremely large positions.
3. Don’t look back
What’s done is over. Successful investors never go back to look at trades they already sold to see how they would have done. They don’t look back to confirm if they did the right thing or were just plain wrong.
4. Don’t sell your winners too soon
If you sell too soon, you will lose additional profits.
5. Don’t keep losers for too long
It is hard for some investors to accept that they were wrong, and this makes them lose more than they should.
This is the land of the Ego. We all want to be right all the time, but it is not wise to keep waiting for a loser to make a comeback.
6. Leave your ego behind when you’re trading
It is never good to feel pride for a good trade, or shame, anger, or grief for a bad one.
The simple truth is that some trades go well and others don’t, and this has nothing to do with the investor’s intelligence or confidence.
7. Find a good plan and stick to it
Investing is like running a marathon, not a sprint race. Patience will get you a long way.
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