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29 Oct 2019
3 min read

The Habits Most Experienced Traders Share

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Written by OspreyFX News Team

Every new trader that aims to join the industry and start engaging with the markets, must understand that success doesnโ€™t come overnight. Patience and consistency are key virtues every aspiring trader must embrace to experience a progressive journey.

The purpose of this article is to help new traders identify the habits most experienced traders share. However, there is no secret formula or piece of advice that will ensure consistent profits and wealth. The way to the top is lined with obstacles. It is important to identify these obstacles as opportunities to keep learning and improving instead of thinking of them as reasons to quit.

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Technical recommendations from experienced traders

Most traders that research how to become successful will find out that keeping a trading journal and clear goals are important aspects to consider. Before engaging with the markets, a trader should first set the right kind of goals. Not necessarily towards daily profits, since it could trigger negative emotional reactions when not reaching the goal. It is advisable to set monthly or annual goals instead.

Attached to a goal, there must be a way to track the performance of the trades. Thatโ€™s when a trading journal comes into play. It helps identify what worked and what didnโ€™t, allowing the trader to prepare a strategy that may help him with future trades. To learn how to set-up a trading strategy click here.

However, these are the common answers traders will find online when searching for the path to profitability. Most trading veterans will suggest other habits every trader must adopt in order to reach his or her goals.

Starting with risk management. Experienced traders suggest that for a trader to stay in the market for a long time, this should be the first habit to adopt. It helps traders cut down losses while keeping them in control of their account by setting up proper stop-losses.

The importance of a traderโ€™s mindset

Not everything happens inside the trading process or while engaging with the markets. Sometimes, personal aspects of a traderโ€™s life can determine if success itโ€™s coming or not.

Trading psychology plays a huge role in determining whether a trader will be successful or not. Most experienced traders agree that controlling emotions is key to trade properly, but what habits do they suggest traders should adopt to control their emotions?

First, every new trader should control the time he or she spends trading. It is well known that after spending a long time in front of the monitor, traders can stop paying attention and risk not thinking clearly. This could harm the traderโ€™s account, and thatโ€™s why veterans suggest adding time intervals for trading. Allowing traders to take care of other tasks of their life and achieve proper efficiency when engaging the markets.

These time intervals are necessary not only for a trader to stay focused but also because the weekends can be used for effective trading as well. Weekends are a perfect time for a trader to recover energy and rest from the markets, but also to review and upgrade their trading strategy. The advice from experts is to dedicate at least one to two hours on Saturday and Sunday to check weekly charts and upcoming economic events.

Conclusion

As mentioned above, there is no secret formula for successful and profitable trading. There are just a set of strategies and habits experienced traders share and identify as their source of inspiration.

But what all experienced traders agree, is that the pillar of every trading activity is knowledge. With thorough knowledge and understanding of the markets, traders can start building a progressive journey towards their goals.

By assigning a small part of the day to educational activities, traders can apply their knowledge from what they learned to their trading activities and move a step further towards their objectives.