𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗵𝘂𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗼𝗼 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵
This might not win me friends but it must be said…
Not everyone is meant to be a trader. Yup, you read me right. Not everyone is meant for trading.
Why?
Because trading involves risk and not everyone can embrace risk in the same manner.
Here’s a true story…
When I was studying in polytechnic at 18 years old, I owed John (not his real name) 10 cents for a reason I can’t recall.
To most of you, it’s only 10 cents and you probably would forget about it — heck some of you might even tell me to keep the change.
But no, not for John.
He pursued me high and low for the 10 cents, pulled the collar of my tee-shirt, and strongly demanded…
…for his 10 cents (or there will be blood, ok I’m kidding the blood part).
But you get my point.
And yes, I should have quickly returned the 10 cents as it’s morally right to do so.
Clearly, John isn’t someone meant for trading because the pain of losing money hurts him too much.
Now you’re probably wondering:
“How do I know if trading is for me?”
For starters, you must be comfortable with risk-taking.
If a small loss bothers till you can’t sleep at night, or you keep thinking about it the whole day, then trading is probably not for you.
And there’s no shame in that because not everyone is meant to be a trader. Just like how not everyone is meant to be an entrepreneur, an employee, or an Olympian.
Now, here’s the good news…
Just because you quit trading doesn’t mean it’s for good. You can always come back when you’re ready as the market is always around.
So here are a few things to help you get back on track…
#1: Pay off your debts
You want to start at ground zero and not put yourself at a (psychological and financial) disadvantage.
So, pay off your credit card debts, the money you owe others, etc.
Once you’re at a clean slate, that’s where you can work your way up.
#2: Get a job
The last thing you want is to rely on trading to pay your bills — that’s a recipe for disaster.
So get a job and have a regular source of income. When you can put food on the table without worries, you’re in a better mental position to trade because you’re trading with money you can afford to lose.
#3: Trade the higher timeframe
Trading the higher timeframe offers numerous benefits…
- It’s less stressful as the market moves “slower” and you have more time to make decisions
- You can have a full-time job which reduces your opportunity cost
- It requires less screen time which allows you to do the things you love
And finally…
#4: Take time away from trading
When you feel that you can’t trade anymore or you don’t know what you’re doing, take a break from trading. Walk away.
When you’ve got nothing on the line, you can re-evaluate what went wrong and how to improve on things.
So take time away to “reset” your mind, then come back stronger to fight again.
