We have not entered this market to adopt an aggressive stance, to prove or evaluate ourselves. Instead, we should maintain a defensive posture, just as our ancestors used this trait for survival.
An individual may enter the market with any type of money—whether it be from loans, borrowing, selling a house or car, or savings—but we must keep in mind that if the outcome of the trade matters to us, we should not trade with that money. A person might take out a loan in traditional business and expand their business. So why shouldn’t this be done in this market? What is the difference between this loan and using leverage? The important thing is that the outcome of the trade should not lead to issues such as the Troxler effect.
How can we identify opportunities in a timely manner?
We need to consider whether the system we intend to use for identifying opportunities is efficient enough, or whether it signals so late that we only realize it after others do. Does it show us opportunities in time, or is it like a remedy after Sohrab’s death, where the trend has already formed and moved significantly, or does it signal early in the trend when many others are still available to trade? If it shows good opportunities, does it have a good cost-to-income ratio, or is it too late to be worthwhile to enter the trade now?
Suppose our system gives us a timely entry alert and the R/R ratio is appropriate. But is the success rate also adequate, or is the return not good? It may seem that I am identifying everything well, but my performance is not good. But is the return also poor for a larger community like mine?
Suppose everything is fine up to this point, and the trade starts to profit initially, but can it sustain and complete an extension or movement? These are questions that we need to answer through our journal. The method that allows us to create our unique trading system is this approach.
For example, what is the best trading session for currency pairs or cryptocurrencies? When is the appropriate time for this session? Regarding ourselves as traders, is it the right time for us to trade? For example, which days or hours are the best for us to trade? Even after eating certain foods, do we feel more energetic for trading? Does taking a morning shower affect our trading, or what kind of rest or recreation improves our mood and readiness for trading, and so on.
Also, for instance, we may notice that a currency reacts very emotionally after the release of news, but another currency shows no such behavior and does not react at all. This depends on the liquidity and volatility of the currencies.
A trader whose trade goes into profit or loss should not get excited, become overly happy, or become grumpy and upset. Otherwise, these emotional behaviors are related to the amygdala in the brain. The next time, it will push us to repeat an action that previously made us happy, but the market conditions have changed and are not like the previous profitable trade. Or we might take a loss and it tells us not to enter a trade again. However, if we incurred a loss in a previous trade, it does not mean that this will necessarily happen in subsequent trades. Based on our trading journal, we should see what behavior in a certain number of our trades has caused a loss and correct that behavior in future trades. Another aspect after trading is engaging in recreation and enjoyment. If we do not take care of ourselves and recharge, we will not profit in this market. We need to gain enough serotonin outside the market, and eliminate the harmful hormones and chemicals produced in our bodies due to fear and anxiety in the market, otherwise, they will cause various illnesses in us.
From Mr. Jabal Ameli’s perspective, setting profit targets in the market is not logical because the market’s volatility varies at different times, and the market does not care that we have set a plan for, say, 10% profit per week. Setting a target and saying, “I want to reach that specific goal” is not a logical goal-setting approach, and there is no one who wouldn’t want to achieve those goals, make progress, or become popular or wealthy. These are just word games, and setting a time frame to reach a goal is not correct. In trading, setting a time frame to reach a goal, setting a specific amount of profit, or setting a percentage of profit or loss is the beginning of a path toward loss and failure. In other words, having this mindset in this market is like cutting off your own roots.
The profession of trading transforms a trader after a period of 3-5 years. During this time, we should only focus on fixing our flaws. But issues such as fear, doubt, excessive hope, etc., are resolved by consulting a psychologist, not by reading self-help books
