Find Your 'Why' For Trading

Reading Time - 5 Minutes


We work to earn the money we need in order to live. In most instances, earning a higher wage equates to a more comfortable living standard. This is true, and it is an unavoidable part of life. However, you need to do it for something more than money.

I came to trading like everyone else did, with the mindset that all beginners have (no doubt just like some of you reading this). It was an opportunity to make millions and billions and live the life of yachts, sports cars and exotic holidays.

Let's get one thing straight before I go any further - that sort of lifestyle IS possible from trading. Your returns are uncapped and can be extraordinary!

However, it soon becomes very clear that this isn't going to be achieved in a matter of months or a couple of short years of trading. This can lead to frustration, anger, and lots of risk taking by people who have built up an unreasonable expectation of what they are going to achieve. And do you know what? That sort of mindset sucks the fun out of trading and turns it into a very high stress industry, one that will ultimately chew you up and spit you back out as a broken person.

You need to want to trade for more than just the potential returns. The reason can be just about anything - You may like being able to pick and choose when you work; you may enjoy sitting at your desk, working in your PJs; maybe you love watching films and reading books as you trade. Whatever it is, there needs to be something to sustain you when you realise that it takes hard work and, more than that, TIME to become successful and consistent.

For me there were a couple of reasons that kept me with trading once I realised it wasn't a 'quick fix toward riches'.

The first reason was that I love the process of trading itself. I enjoy analysing the charts and determining the likeliest places where the Bulls will lose power to the Bears, or vice versa. I also love the fact that I learn more about trading every day. Each trade teaches me something about how the market works, how candlesticks print out human emotion in real time on your screen and also how fear and uncertainty can have a huge influence on price.

The second reason is a more recent addition for me - I love helping other people learn how to trade and give them the best possible chance I can of moving into trading as a full time career. It started with a simple frustration at there not being enough good, clear information out there for beginners, but it has evolved into so much more. There's nothing more rewarding than receiving a message telling me that I have helped someone turn their trading around - it's more rewarding than winning trades (although I like those also!)

I would highly recommend that you find your reasons for trading out with the potential monetary gain. The people who come in hard and fast when contacting me, specific on the money they want to make and asking how quickly it can be done are, in my experience, the ones who find trading infuriating, who are stressed, and who ultimately fail.

Find your why and things will get easier for you. You may already know your why... If you're reading this in your PJs, a cup of tea in front of you and the charts open on the screen, then that's most likely it!

I hope you all have a great trading week!