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Discipline - The Make Or Break Of Trading
by Althaf Ahmed

Following the path of discipline is one of the top three requirements for a successful Forex trader.

Ask any successful Forex trader what are the secrets of their success in surviving and prospering in the tough world of foreign currency trading. They will almost always tell you that one of the principal factors is having a strong discipline.

There is no escaping the fact that around 95% of the people who put their toe into swirling and potentially dangerous world of Forex get it bitten off. And sooner rather than later.

There are those who are so anxious to get started and fore go the almost obligatory two months "run-in" period. Known as demo trading in Forex jargon, this is always the first test for a trader to gauge if they have sufficient discipline and the steely character to make it.

Any expert will tell you that practice makes perfect. Why make the mistakes that inexperienced dealers will inevitably make, when you can practice and get the feel for trading while playing with virtual money.

Disciplined and successful dealers will tell you that whatever time it took them to learn the business, generate statistics and learn from them was the best investment that they could have made; to be fully prepared to enter and succeed in the world of Forex trading.

Once that step has been made the Forex trader will discover that the traits of discipline discovered and strengthened during their demo period, will be the ones that will lead them to move forward in the day to day world of Forex trading.

To be consistently profitable as a Forex trader requires the blend of experience, consistency and discipline. The first two traits are gained through time. The third one, discipline as a trader, is the glue that binds them together and makes them a winning combination.

The first major yardstick that a successful Forex trader needs to establish for themselves is realistic financial goals. Over a period of one year, the experienced and successful Forex trader will be pleased to turn his stake around two times. That's all. In other words if the Forex dealer starts with a stake of $5,000, they should aim for an annual trading profit of $10,000.

Disciplined traders will have realized that looking for unrealistic gains, leads to pressure. Pressure will almost inevitably lead to failure and losses. Profit goals should be specific, based over months and even years and not days and even weeks.

Disciplined Forex traders will always be working around a consistent trading system. This is what separates them from traders who have no discipline and are apt to lose their direction. Inconsistent and undisciplined traders, when they begin to make losses tend to panic and forget any rules that they set for themselves.

However the disciplined Forex trader although they will have, maybe two or three systems running simultaneously, their strategy will have been mapped out well in advance. They will know when to buy, sell or simply wait till things take a turn for the better.

Disciplined traders are there for the long term, and they will consistently earn profit for themselves. Discipline pays in all aspects of life, in any form of business and probably more so as a freelance foreign exchange dealer.

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About the Author: Althaf Ahmed has been trading the forex market for 2 years. He runs an educational blog at http://www.marketsnipers.com where he shares popular articles from different authors around the world, provides trading resources and tools, and has a free mentoring program for aspiring traders.

 

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