Are You Setting Yourself Up For Success Each Day?

Have you ever started one of your trading sessions by jumping into a trade as soon as you open your charts? 

I see this from traders all the time mainly new traders who aren't experienced. For many, it is these trades that end up being rushed, forced and ultimately being the type of trades they later come to regret and have a to take a big loss, especially when combined with ignorance or disbelief.

It's almost as if they're making up for the lost time between the end of their last trading session and this one. Revenge trading for missed opportunities they weren't even around for and so now they rush trades to feel the excitement of having a trade placed. 

I think, to a certain extent, we are all guilty of doing this from time to time - or at least we would be, but the thing that stops some people from making it a reoccurring theme are the routines, habits and principles that are firmly in place to help instil better trading habits which lead to profitable traders. 

This doesn't just occur in trading either; it's also a factor in other areas of our lives.

How many times have you rushed a decision in your life that you have later come to regret? Situations you would have avoided if you had taken the time to think things over fully. 

Well, it's the same thing for trading.

By setting simple routines, habits or principles for all essential aspects of our trading, we can prepare ourselves mentally and physically, giving us an advantage in critical moments.

Don't Over Complicate It.

As humans, we tend to over-complicate things. But what results if you over-complicate a morning routine? It might work well for a few days and feel great, but it will soon become a chore and be challenging to sustain before eventually being abandoned.

Instead, keep things manageable. Find a few things that nicely slot into your trading routine That can be replicated. Things that don't ultimately take you in a different direction but subtly shift your mind, body and resources towards where they need to be to best prepare yourself for a successful day of learning and observing the markets.

Likewise remember, a good daily routine starts the night before. How you fix yourself for the next day and the time you go to bed will be significant parts of your overall performance.

Of course, if you can keep up the basics, you can add more things overtime to make it even better, and before long it may be something more difficult if that's what's right for you - but it will be in a flexible way to keep you on track with a system that is manageable.