Our support line received an email that read: Hi. Please delete my account. I can’t handle the stress and I don’t want to make money from trading anymore.
A support representative contacted the user, and found out that he was a very good trader. Although the previous two weeks were not profitable, up to that point the account’s yield had grown exponentially for more than 3 months.
Why then the feeling that he wanted to quit trading when it brought in a stable profit? This is the story of the client, published with their permission.
I don’t want to lose anymore
The user had heard about trading at work when one of their colleague bragged that they were making money from American Internet companies’ shares growing. The user then decided that they wanted to try this as well.
As he didn’t like taking unacceptable risks, he decided to first study trading and did this by reading one or two books on trading per week, watching webinars and using a mentor that showed him how to trade. After a month of trading by using a demo account, he started trading with real money.
At first, everything was great. His job allowed him to still watch the market, enabling him to always know the state of his transactions and his account. He then however started losing for two weeks in a row.
In those two weeks, he lost about 75% of what he had managed to earn before that. This ultimately led to him feeling that he was tired of losing, and not being able to look at charts anymore, as all he saw before his eyes were unsuccessful transactions.
Success and Motivation
This type of situation actually happens more often than what you may think. A new trader often spends a massive amount of time and effort learning first, and then gets to the stage that they start making profits from their discipline and effective strategies for about three months. At the first sign of problems however, their motivation suddenly drops to zero.
A trader can literally make money from the first few days if they have great personal characteristics. When bad luck however appeared unexpectedly, it came from where it was least expected, i.e. from within.
His inability to sustain his motivation almost broke him.
Motivation is a key component for success. If a trader does not have a keen desire to trade, it is very unlikely that they will succeed. Many traders do in fact notice that a bad mood will often lead to negative results.
Motivated traders are passionate about trading. They know their purpose, are not afraid to make mistakes and, more importantly, are ready to admit them.
The big questions are however how do they stay motivated and why do traders experience burnout.
Set realistic goals
Most traders, especially novices, start with only one thing on their minds – to start making profits on financial markets as fast as possible. Although they may have heard about the possibility of hitting difficulties, they tend to ignore this. They see trading platforms only as a way in which they can make money, and not as work. If you recognize yourself in the description above, you should understand that you are not very motivated as a trader.
It is imperative that you set realistic goals for your trading.
If making profits is your most important goal for trading, write it down in detail, including how much you want to make and in which timeframe. Your goal should be as realistic as possible and should start with the minimum amount you want to make.
Even a goal of small profits in the beginning will cheer you up when you reach it and increase your motivation level dramatically.
Trading as a job
This recommendation is in respect of what you do. A trader, unlike the vast majority of other jobs, takes risks on a daily basis. When you trade, you are in fact giving the market $10 and believe (hope) you will make a profit of $100 or even $1000.
As most people can’t even visualize those types of return of investment, you are one of a unique group of people and should be proud of it.
It’s a good idea to try to get into contact with other traders. If you are part of the trading community it’s like belonging to a secret society. To keep your motivation levels high, also try to attend trading webinars or watch lectures presented by successful traders. Another good thing to do is trying out different types of new trading styles.
For a trader, changing their strategy will definitely take them out of their comfort zone. This type of professional stress can quickly help you get back on track, providing of course it doesn’t lead to too much financial risk.
Emotional burnout
Traders that have not been trained formally are often faced with emotional burnout. Anyone who has been working at one company or one job for a long time is probably familiar with this situation.
Burnout most often appears for a trader when they experience periods of emotional ups and downs in quick succession. You may for example experience the joy of making 5 successful scalp trades within a single hour of the trading session, but at the same time be disappointed by making the same amount of trades that make a loss.
Try to avoid this type of situation. If you however find yourself locked in a vicious cycle, it may be best to take a break from trading, and do something peaceful like having a good sleep, watching a TV show, or reading a book. Do however avoid financial topics for a while.
Emotional difficulties express themselves in a diverse number of ways, sometimes making it very difficult to cope with them at once. However, your previous negative experiences can be neutralized, and you will become stronger with even the smallest victory.
Let’s get back for a moment to the trader on whose story this article was based. He is doing well after taking a week off and then returning to trading. His attitude to losses has also improved greatly with the newfound understanding that there are no easy ways to reach success.