Trading really doesn't have to be complicated. We make it complicated because we think it has to be.
Is your trading getting complicated?
Do you ever find yourself starting to complicate your trading strategy? Sometimes we can't help but start adding to what is a perfectly good, simple trading routine.
Maybe we add the odd indicator or two to our charts, or start spending too much time on trading forums. Sometimes we might start reading a trading article online and get caught up in someone else's opinion on what the market is doing.
Why do we keep making trading more complicated than it needs to be?
Lots of reasons.
We don't think we're allowed to make money with ease.
Getting out of the money-per-hour mindset is difficult, especially if we have been surrounded by that message all our lives.
We fill our trading days with extra "work" that doesn't actually increase our profitability, all to make us feel like we've earned our profits.
Most of this superfluous stuff not only makes no difference to our P/L, it's actually of detriment, because it drains our energy and clouds our judgement.
It also makes us very boring. Better to spend that time going for a walk, nurturing our relationships with family and friends, looking after our physical and mental health.
What is a trader?
Hang on though, what's a trader if not someone who spends all day looking at charts and trawling through financial reports?
Well, I call a trader anyone who trades the markets, and a professional trader is anyone who makes money trading the markets. They might spend one hour a day "trading" or one minute, it makes no difference.
Our whole society tells us that more is better.
More knowledge, more information, more data, more opinions. It's no wonder that we struggle with the idea that less of those things increases a trader's profitability.
Not many people are really going to believe that less is more. But it is certainly true in my experience, less has definitely turned out to be a whole lot more.
The beauty of this less-is-more trading mindset is that it frees up so much time and energy for actually living your life now!
So go on, switch off your monitor, get up and move your body. Go for a walk, go get a coffee.
Trading doesn't have to be complicated.
Simpler trading makes for less stress and greater success. After all, that's why we all started trading in the first place.
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