A Letter to the Struggling Trader

There is a reason why the statistic 90% of traders fail is true. That’s because learning to trade is one of the hardest and most mentally challenging things you can teach yourself. If you are struggling with trading and feeling like you’re just not getting it, you are not alone.

There have been days where I have sat in front of my computer on the verge of tears because every trade I’d take would go the wrong way. I have let bad trades define my self-worth more times than I’d like to admit. Sound familiar? This struggling you’re experiencing is very normal and this is all part of the process.

When struggling, remember that you are a product of your mistakes.

Who you become is the result of how you react to those mistakes. I’m not sure when the idea of making mistakes became such a negative thing. Any person who ever became great will tell you it was from the result of failing over and over again.

When you fail, you learn. When you learn, you improve. So what is wrong with failing? The way you react to your mistakes is how you will be defined as a person. Detach yourself from the notion that taking a bad trade means you are a bad trader.

Since you were a child in grade school, you were conditioned to believe that good grades = success. That mindset often transfers over to trading and leads to significant failure. You do not have to get every trade right to be a good trader. Instead, you need to start from what you know and build on it as you continue to learn how to trade. How do you do that? By learning from each and every mistake.

When things go wrong, stop going with them

The market is going to do what it wants to do and it does not care about you.

In trading, you will be wrong as often as you are right. Stop taking it personally. If the market goes the other way, don’t let your pride take over. Get out of the trade, journal what happened, learn from it, and try again.

When things start going wrong, our brain involuntarily switches from a logical mindset to an emotional mindset. You are no longer focused on the facts the chart is providing when your emotions take over. This means you are more concerned with being right than being a successful trader.

The only place pride will get you in the market is a blown-up account. The market is going to humble you more times than you will be able to count. It doesn’t mean you are a failure. Even the best traders get still get humbled and they’ve been doing it for years!

The longer you let your emotions control your trades, the longer it will take for you to become successful in the market.

These are the make-it-or-break-it moments for struggling traders

There are very few things I’ve experienced in life that are as discouraging as making bad trades over and over again. Not only are you losing your hard-earned money, but you are also destroying your confidence in the process.

One of my favorite quotes comes from Muhammad Ali, “I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.’ “

These gut-wrenching failures are the make-it-or-break-it moments of your trading career. Are you going to give up because it was a tough day? Or are you going to shake it off and try again tomorrow?

Because I know the first option sure won’t get you far in life. To be successful and have the life you want, you need to push yourself as far as you can go and then some.

I know it’s hard and there will be days you will break down in tears because you are so frustrated. Keep going. It means you’re close to a breakthrough.

You can’t stop now…

Remember your first day of learning how to trade? You had no idea what you were looking at or how to begin. That version of you would be so impressed with where you are now. You’ve come so far and worked this hard to get to where you are. What is quitting going to do? Put you right back at square one. The struggles you are facing now are a test to see how committed you are to the life you say you want.

Turn your failures and mistakes into opportunities. Realize the reason you are struggling is because of your own actions and take charge. You’re in the thick of it now. The best thing you can do for yourself is keep pushing through. Sooner or later you will emerge on the other side better in every way because you didn’t give up!