6 Bad Trading Habits that can Stop you from Achieving Massive Results

Let’s analyze bad trading habits that can limit you from reaching your full potential as a trader:

1. Constantly switching from one trading system to another

If you often switch from one trading strategy to another, you would deny yourself the opportunity of mastering a particular system (which would ultimately result in inconsistency and low performance).

Building a productive and reliable strategy requires singular and undivided commitment.

So, stick to one system, master it and own it.

2. Inconsistent Journaling

Gapped or uncommitted journaling of your trading experiences can result in missed learning opportunities, lack of accountability and difficulty tracking your progress.

In other words, you cannot position well for future trades if you don’t linearly or sequentially follow/examine your past trading activities or behavior(s).

Keep a regular and cohesive journal.

3. Trading without a plan is a bad habit

Trading without a clear picture of your risk tolerance level, entry and exit points, is simply speculating blindly. It is gambling, it’s like driving in the dark without headlights.

Like the game of chess, trading requires anticipation, strategy, a well-structured plan.

Else, you would be driving to failure.

Having a well-defined and strategic plan (and following it) will save you from being controlled by your emotions.

4. Letting a losing trade run with the hope of a retracement/reversal

Not cutting your losses is a very bad habit. It is usually born out of the fear of being wrong, overconfidence or greed.

The consequences are huge. You can end up losing more than what you imagined, and at the same time miss other (potential) profitable opportunities (due to the clinginess to a bad trade).

Not utilising a stop loss order is a terrible mistake that can ruin your account.

5. Always following the crowd

Do not blindly follow the herd. The reason is, most of their decisions would likely be based on emotions and not sound analysis.

This can lead you to buying “inflated” prices or selling prematurely.

Blindly following the herd destroys ingenuity and personal development.

6. Revenge trading after a loss

The pain of a loss may cloud your judgment, preventing clear and careful decision-making.

The frustration pushes you to enter the next trade to regain your loss quickly (without a plan and risk management strategies).

And as a result, you lose more money in the process.

In conclusion, self-discipline, consistency, and a sound strategy are the foundations of success.

Get rid of your “unhealthy” routines, adopt analyzed/backtested approaches and see your results improve greatly.