Trading consistency epitomises financial freedom, providing traders choice and independence. For most, this was the motive behind initially getting involved in trading – being able to live the life you want on your terms.
Learning to trade the markets, however, requires a substantial time investment, often underestimated by newer traders. Several factors need checking off; it’s not a case of simply understanding a technical strategy and hoping for the best.
Time
The two most powerful warriors are patience and time – Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace.
Time management refers to how you organise and plan how long you spend on specific activities. Time is such a vital aspect of life, and deserves respect. Unwilling to manage your time can make life somewhat chaotic, particularly when learning new skills.
Organising your time effectively involves planning. Scheduling your tasks for the day ahead should become a habit, allowing learning traders the time to focus on study, without distraction. If your day only permits an hour for learning, make this a priority. Remember, the more time you dedicate to your craft, the sooner you’ll begin seeing results.
Access to accurate education
Having access to accurate education helps accelerate the learning process. With a considerable amount of information at your fingertips, though, it’s often tough to choose which material to follow. Time is precious, so having the best guidance is crucial.
Traders have a choice of either learning with the help of a mentor, or learning solo.
A tutor can provide you with insight from their experience, become your accountability partner and help develop your own trading method. This can shave a number of months, or even years, off your learning process, but only if you select the right mentor. Ensure experience and a good track record. A lot of mentors have never actually traded which is generally a red flag.
Those who prefer learning solo may want to begin studying our dedicated ‘Forex 101’ blog here. In addition to this, take a look at our daily market reports, boasting in-depth technical analysis and fundamental coverage.
Having the right mindset
Having the right mindset for trading takes time to develop. Trading is a solitary venture, and without the correct psychological makeup you’ll find trading one of the most frustrating and exasperating endeavours you’ve ever undertaken.
Those who have decided to give the trading profession a go often possess the innocence of excitement only paralleled by watching a child getting candy. However, the opening high diminishes after a few months after realising the complexity of educational and psychological challenges that come with trading.
Before you invest time in this venture, it’s wise to consider whether trading is a good fit. Spend some time mulling over the following questions:
- When every bone in your body is telling you not to be, can you demonstrate patience?
- Are you usually a disciplined person? There’s constant temptation in the market. Having the discipline to follow a trading plan – an outline of any given trade defining when and how the setup is executed – is paramount. Discipline and patience are two inner traits efficient traders possess.
- Can you handle losing money? This may seem a senseless question since few enjoy losing money. Nonetheless, operating in the markets incurs losses as a part of the business. Expecting each trade to form winners is unwise. This is where thinking in probabilities helps a lot – check out the following piece for an introduction to probabilities here.
You may also find this article of interest.
Learner styles
Each trader is unique and learns at a different pace. Therefore, it is almost impossible to definitively answer how long it’ll take for any one person to reach consistency in trading. Anyone who is telling you otherwise is either trying to lure you into buying something, or, quite frankly, doesn’t know what they’re talking about.
Some people are just better wired to deal with the stresses of trading. That is a fact. A naturally patient and disciplined individual is likely to find the process of trading easier to comprehend. Someone who is impulsive and lacks discipline may find trading a challenging endeavour. That doesn’t mean those who struggle will not become consistently profitable traders, it just means it might take more time.
Particularly in the earlier stages of the trading journey, focusing more on the process of trading is recommended rather than the results. If the process is correct, the results will undoubtedly follow.
Experience
Experience traders, who have traded the market for many years, reported, on average, it took them more than 5 years to reach a level they were satisfied with. Some, however, grasped it quicker than this, though were fortunate to have a good mentor and could devote several hours each week.
