Focus on the PROCESS....not the MONEY!
I back in Canada for almost 2 months now, and news of a new kind of virus has been on the lips of many friends in Asia. Things evolve quite rapidly these days and news are not very good from what I understood. I am planning to be back in Asia for Hong Kong Art Basel to meet galleries owners for my art work, but this whole virus thing might delay my plans...
While in Asia I had to micro manage the whole journey. Plan for the rest of my trip, on how I can keep travelling, taking pictures and trading. I had a hard time in Bangkok, the internet connection in my room was horrible and I had to work from coffee shops and co-working spaces....but the importance is to always follow the process.
Have you ever asked yourself what is your trading process? If you follow it diligently? It's easy to get too focused on the results, especially when we start our career as traders. The process is everything that goes into making a trade. It starts with how we prepare for the day, what is our strategy for the current market, which setup are best fitted to use, what is our entry and exits, what is our position sizing, our risk management, how we will manage the trades once in them and how we analyze the market. Trading is much more than clicking on your mouse and making millions.
"If you can't describe what you are doing as a process, you don't know what you're doing." W. Edwards Deming
When we start focusing our attention and energy less on the outcome (i.e money) but rather on the processes involved, we find out that we take better decision, are more successful, less anxious and even happier at the results.
Process is simply the methodology used to accomplish an undertaking. It could be a simple checklist or a complex systematic approach. Process focuses on the specific actions that must be taken, regardless of the results.
The problem is, traders at all levels faces greater pressure today than ever before to be competitive, to score, to rack up statistics, and to produce winning trades. We are often our worst enemy, we focuses on the result, as a way to prove to ourselves or to others that we succeeded, regardless of the process...but successfully consistent traders never get in or out of a position without going through their checklist, otherwise it is pure gambling.
"Perfection has to do with the end product, but excellence has to do with the process." Jerry Moran
These are the 9 simple steps I am taking before entering or exiting a position:
1. Identify the market direction on the weekly charts.
2. Identify if its a Buy or Sell day by using the True Trend indicator on daily charts.
3. Draw all supports and resistances levels.
4. Look for the Bollinger Bands for Engulfing Bullish / Bearish Setups on 4H charts.
5. Look for the Inside Bars reversal setups on Daily and 4H charts.
6. Always take "A" Class setups, it's better to sit on my hands and take less trades than average setups.
7. Don't fall in love with the trade when it goes against me.
8. Take small loses and re-evaluate, always have stop loss.
9. Do not enter against a strong trend when price is trending.
"The good life is a process, not a state of being. It is a direction not a destination." Carl Rogers
These are the 4 common success factors to become a profitable trader.
1. Take Action, stop procrastinate....have a positive mindset and the ambition to succeed.
2. Stay consistent in your learning, by scheduling some time every week to learn something new through an online course, a book or through a coach.
3. Review your trades, journal everything you did, write down the emotions you had while taking those trades, and learn form them.
4. Say focused. The more you stay focused on one thing, the closer you get to your goal.
Focusing on your process keeps you focused on the things you can control. Results are beyond our control, but by continually making sure we're following our process, positive results begin to occur naturally. Positive results come from continually focusing on a process that works. If you focus on a solid process for trading then results will come. Think about the big picture, not individual trade results.
FOCUS ON THE PROCESS!
VTL