THE HABITS OF HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL TRADERS: PART 1

Today’s post is going to be solely dedicated to YOU…the aspiring trader. Now I know all of our posts are for you but this one in particular. Many people just touch the surface when it comes to the habits that make traders successful but do not identify the TOP habits that you must develop in order to succeed in the markets.

In my time trading, the markets I have noticed these 3 habits are a common thread amongst full-time traders. If you can develop and cultivate these habits in your own life, I have no doubt that you will develop into a successful trader as well. For this post, we are going to focus on what I would consider the most important habit for you to develop. The following posts on habits 2 and 3 will be shared in the weeks to come.

If you have been exposed to the self-development industry for a period of time you have probably heard of the following line…

“Do what successful people do and you will get what they have.”

When you start to study others’ success you will actually find that these people are JUST like you. Most people are not born into success. They had to develop and cultivate these habits that we are going to discuss as well. They had to go through the trials and tribulations JUST LIKE YOU. It is comforting to know that others living their dream live had a similar story. It makes us feel like we are not alone. Because trust me it feels like that some days and I’m sure you know the feeling as well!

But it really is true that if you do what successful people do and you will naturally follow in their footsteps. There is not much difference between a successful trader and yourself. They have just been in the game longer than you. So if you can learn and develop the traits we are discussing faster and earlier in your trading career, you will become consistent quicker.

The first thing I would encourage you to do is find a trader who you resonate with. Pick a trading mentor if you will. Maybe it is their lifestyle or the way they talk about life and their philosophies. Find someone who you really admire that is a successful trader and sit down and think about what makes this person successful. Start with a blank sheet of paper and list out 10 qualities that you think make traders successful.

After writing these traits down think about how you display each one of these traits in your own life. Every person has every trait it is just shown in different ways. So think about some examples of how you showcase each trait you wrote down. After careful thought and consideration, you will find that YOU have EVERY trait that successful traders have. You display them in different ways but ultimately you have every characteristic. Through time and dedication to the markets, you can learn how to cultivate and develop these characteristics in the way that successful traders do.

Naturally, because you are doing what other successful people are doing… you to will follow in their footsteps and become successful.

Now, this is not an overnight process. It takes time, energy and dedication. But I promise that if you follow the correct path you WILL develop the characteristics that it takes to be a trading success story!

This brings me to my first point… Patience. 

Patience is one of the most important traits you must develop if you want to be a successful trader. Not only does patience help you with your trading but it also gives you a fresh and new perspective on life. When you develop patience, you find that you do not focus so much and getting things done NOW.

Living while always thinking about the future makes you ungrateful for the experiences and life you are living right now. In order to move forward I have found that you must bring your focus to the present moment in your life and adapt and move forward according to what is happening at this moment. By focusing on the future you forget what is happening in this moment. Even in trading, by bringing your attention to the present now you will develop an intense focus while looking at the charts. You will realize that each NOW moment will build together to form the future you ultimately want to manifest. By being your best today you will see all the pieces coming together to be the trader you want to be a year, two, or three years from now.

To bring this future into reality requires patience.  By living in the present moment you naturally will develop patience because you do not have your full attention constantly on the future. You focus on being your best right now and that means making good trading decisions today. Each great trading decision builds on the last and becomes the foundation for consistency in the markets.

We want to bring our attention to the present moment and not consistently focus on the future. This can put us into a state of fear and ungratefulness for the life we live now. We can often forget that each day we live is a stepping stone to that better future and the more we focus on making our today better… the better our future will be.

So today I encourage you to stop and be present. Realize that each day you have is a stepping stone to creating that better future and focus on that. Focus on TODAY, not 365 days from now. By bringing your attention to being the best trader today, you will see great progress when you look back a year or even a month from this moment.

It is encouraging to those of you struggling right now to know that every trader went through the same struggles you did. All successful traders had to develop the characteristic of patience.