4 Ideas for Developing Trading Discipline

You have heard me say a number of times how important it is for you to develop self-discipline. It is part of the trading mindset, and without it, no matter what great tools are at your disposal, there is no way you will be successful, at least not for very long. Discipline helps you to develop and apply trading rules. How do you develop discipline though? Where does it come from?

Check out these rules for consistent, profitable trades

One of the biggest misconceptions that people have, especially about themselves, is the idea that discipline is ingrained from the start. On the contrary, nobody is born with self-discipline. It is a learned trait. So if you do not have much, that is no reason to give up on trading. All it means is that you have to take the time to develop it!

Here are some ideas for cultivating this elusive and important skill

• Start out by being honest. If you are honest with yourself, you will see both your successes and failures. It is necessary to see both in order to cultivate self-discipline, because you need to be able to recognize mistakes, so you can stop making them. It is just as essential though to be able to see your strengths, so that you can keep honing them. Click here to develop character for success

• Keep your goal in your mind at all times. Goals need to be kept realistic. It can be helpful to think about not just how much money you want to make, but also why you want the money. What do you plan to use it for? This can help you to stay focused and motivated when the going gets tough. Discipline is a means to an ends, although developing it can be rewarding for its own sake too.

• Try challenging yourself to not only be more disciplined with your trading, but also with other aspects of your life. Is there a bad habit you want to quit, like excessive smoking or drinking? Maybe you want to learn how to get up earlier in the morning, or actually get eight hours of sleep every night. Try working on some of these goals as well. They will help you become more disciplined, and also healthier.

• Learn how to take breaks. Sometimes when you work on building up discipline, you can actually become a bit too focused. It is dangerous to start trading too much like a robot, since you are a human being. If you find yourself at the computer all hours of the day and night, without taking time off to enjoy yourself and be with friends and family, you need to also discipline yourself to take time away from trading. During your time off, you should think about other things, not your trading.  This shows whether you know when to take breaks.

Discipline does not come out of nowhere, and ironically it takes discipline to build discipline. But that just means that once you start getting through the tough part at the beginning, you will become better and better at doing it!

While developing your discipline use a demo account until you are ready for a real money trade!