The ego is a big part of a trader’s demise in the long run. When ego leads decision making, over time there is no possibility for consistency.

Another condition that newer traders exhibit is the uncanny ability to try to make sense out a market that acts in an illogical manner. I’m talking about why markets move down in the face of positive economic events or why stocks move up on negative news. Logic says that the market correlation should be evident. All bad news creates a downward move and all good news creates an upward move. This obviously isn’t always the case. Market Makers, institutions, analysts and retail traders all have their own intentions and opinions about where valuations in stocks and the market “should” be. It is very difficult however to determine what these large capital base firms are doing as they do it. For most, it is downright impossible. This is what leads to traders wanting the easy explanation for what happened. Sadly, they accept any reasonable explanation offered to them. Then when the same event happens the next time, they expect the same result. When it doesn’t happen, they complain to the one that offered the prior explanation. That person simply offers another reasonable explanation that is accepted and the cycle continues. Until that trader begins to understand for himself how this event works, they will never be able to progress as a trader understanding what is behind the curtain. They blame the wrong information presented and lack the determination to find out the truth of what happened so that they do not repeat the same negative action.

When a trader goes further, it is almost enlightenment when a trader finally realizes that what did happen doesn’t really matter. What mattered was simply that the stock moved in a certain direction and the trader was able to profit from it or not. This clarity in trading allows a trader to improve herself and her accountability. The stock moved, they don’t know why, but they traded based on what they saw in the stock. They either profited or lost based on what they saw in the trade. It was that person’s trade and his alone. The market didn’t hurt the trade and Market Makers didn’t intentionally make the stock move one way or the other to make you exit. The market, market makers and you all work in this stock move in a certain way that has nothing to do with each other, only their own intentions. If that intention happens to make you exit with a profit or loss, then that was your decision, not theirs. Your trading resides in you. If you succeed, you have no one to thank but yourself. You are the one pressing the buttons. When you fail, you have no one to blame but yourself. You are the one pressing the buttons. Learn to trust yourself and your abilities. If you can do this, you are becoming personally accountable for your trade. This is a step in the profitable direction.

Each trading system has many points of opportunity. By understanding and developing the confidence in yourself, there is a connection made from a trader’s understanding of mechanical trading to their artistic side of trading. Traders need to rely on themselves, their thoughts, ideas, feelings and actions. By trusting in themselves, they enhance this part of their trading. Without this, a trader continues to see the events that happen to him as external, something to blame. There will always be that outside force that is taking profits from them and ruining their lives, stealing their money. There will never be any type of control over the trade because they let the outside forces keep it. To become profitable, a trader needs to retain that control.