Managing Trading Psychology

Types Of Goals 

When it comes to trading you have to construct goals that will keep you consistent and profitable without becoming greedy. When you focus entirely on the amount of profit you want to generate you lose sight of what it takes to make that profit. This tends to happen to the new traders that are starting out.

Example of a good goal - "This week I want to be profitable."
The reason why this is a good goal is because you did not set a specific amount of money that you need to make. As long as you made anything more than what you already had is good enough for you. If trading is a full time job for you I would hope that you have realistically attainable weekly goals.

Example of a bad goal - "I have to make $500 this week."

It sounds like a great goal, but in reality it could give you trouble. Mainly because if you do not reach your goal for the week then you will feel dissatisfied. Feeling like you have to make a specific amount of money within a time limit can be stressful. Especially in the market where the opportunity might not present it self right away. This can cause you to forcefully make trades even when you do not see the opportunity. Which can result with a loss.

When To Take Your Profit

Obviously when you make an entry you have an idea of what to set your take profit to. Several wicks later you are in the profit zone. The only problem is in the back of your head you are asking your self whether or not you should close your trade, or keep it going. There are several ways to approach this dilemma.

1. If the market is trending very well and you are already 40+ pips in profit. Set a stop loss I usually set mine 15 pips away. Depending on what happens in the market I can choose to change it as the market moves. If your stop loss gets hit you still exit with a profit.
2. Your take profit is 70 pips away from your entry and you are halfway there, but the market stops trending and starts consolidating. You can't move the market, so you need to take what the market is currently giving you. Afterwards reanalyze the currency pair and see if it would be smart for you to make another entry or for you to wait. A little profit is better than no profit.

When To Trade & When You Should Not

I have a whole list for this...

• Trade when your conscious because if you make a trade and then you go to sleep. You are not aware for what could happen in the market place for the following 7-9 hours.  Unless you are a swing trader then this rule does not apply to you. If you have never left a over night trade good luck sleeping...
• Learn which trading session affects your currency. Your favorite pair might not be so volatile outside of the specific time that the trading session is open.
• *Very Important* Do not trade major catastrophic news unless you are prepared to lose everything. Previous examples GREXIT and BREXIT.
• Trade regular news like NFP which occurs on the first Friday of every month. This tip is at your own risk. If you have no idea what NFP is then please do not attempt to trade it.
• Do not trade currency pairs that have undergone major news. For example I do not advice you to trade GBP currencies because of BREXIT. These currencies are highly unreliable and unpredictable. Your best technical analysis skills might not work and  you will lose your confidence in trading these types of currencies.
• I do not advise trading on Sundays. Its a new week and Sundays get a little weird.

Practice Safe Scalping *Pun Intended*

I'm going to give you a hypothetical situation. Lets say you did your technical analysis, and your indicators are all saying that the currency pair is looking bearish. By bearish I mean gradually bearish and not instant 200 pips down type of bearish. Even everyone on Tradersview is saying that the currency pair you are working with is bearish. There are major resistance levels that can protect you. The point is you are 100% certain that it is bearish. My best advice is to only sell the peaks. You want to do this because if it breaks out you will be in profit. If you decide to also buy the valleys , and you haven't been able to pay close attention then the breakout could go against you entirely and leave you at a loss.

As I gain more experience in trading I will probably run into more tips and tricks on how to manage my trading psychology that I will share with you. Everything that was written today was from my own personal experience, and you don't have to listen to it if you have your own system. If it did help thank you very much for reading my post.

Good luck,

ManBearBull