{"id":2055,"date":"2010-05-26T01:30:13","date_gmt":"2010-05-26T05:30:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/club.ino.com:80\/trading\/?p=2055"},"modified":"2010-05-26T10:27:45","modified_gmt":"2010-05-26T14:27:45","slug":"4-steps-to-mental-toughness-for-short-term-traders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wwwtest.ino.com\/blog\/2010\/05\/4-steps-to-mental-toughness-for-short-term-traders\/","title":{"rendered":"4 Steps to Mental Toughness for Short Term Traders"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"As all MarketClub members know, psychology is a major factor in both investing and short term trading.\u00a0 Chris Dunn, from the Emini Academy<\/a>, is a major proponent of developing the proper mental mindset of a professional trader, and this week he\u2019s contributing a helpful post on four steps you can take to have a strong trading mindset.
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\nIn my opinion, day trading is top on the list of mentally stimulating professions.\u00a0 It requires a mental toughness unparalleled by any other business.\u00a0 For example, the influx of emotions and sensations felt by someone in a short-term trade can bring on fear stronger than that of certain death, or a euphoric sensation as if you just inherited a windfall of profits.<\/p>\n

To become a professional trader with the ability to thrive in all market conditions, one must develop understanding and control over their personal psychological strengths and weaknesses.\u00a0 In this article, we will talk about 4 steps that can help you develop a strong trading psychology and confidence to become a top-level day trader.<\/p>\n

Step 1 \u2013 Build a Strong Foundation<\/strong><\/p>\n

No matter what instrument or time frame you choose to trade, you need to have a solid understanding of the knowledge needed to trade that market.\u00a0 This can include everything from market basics (like contract specifications for futures traders), technical analysis, risk management, and order execution.\u00a0 There are many great day trading courses that can give you a broad understanding of all of those categories.<\/p>\n

Along with risk management, comes discipline. You need to practice staying out of the market when you know the odds are not in your favor.\u00a0 So many people know when this occurs, but still chase trades. It\u2019s all about control. You have to train your brain to think of the market as an opportunity pool, instead of getting stuck on low probability trades where you end up playing catch up.<\/p>\n

Having a general education of the necessary short term trading tools is vital to your success, but is only the beginning\u2026<\/p>\n

Step 2 \u2013 Formulate Your Trading Action Plan<\/strong><\/p>\n

Once you have a solid understanding of the basics, then you need to develop an action plan that fits your personality and risk tolerance level.\u00a0 This includes the type of trades you take, your risk structure, and technical analysis strategy.\u00a0 Here are a few important questions to ask when developing your own personal trading action plan:<\/p>\n