I want to tell you about one of the main reasons that provoke an outburst of emotions. I will also give three simple tips to help you control this. Let's get started.
Main Trigger for Emotions
This might be difficult to believe, but the majority of feelings are caused by continuous monitoring of the price movement. Most traders constantly look at charts even when it is not necessary. They just like to watch the formation of new candles. But why?
The feeling that causes the greatest reaction in a person is vision. That is why people prefer visual entertainment, such as films, books, magazines, paintings, performances, and so on. For the same reason, tracking the chaotic movements of quotes has become extremely entertaining. Moreover, the whole process is connected with money which adds even more sensation.
I’ll tell you a secret - many traders like to observe the price movement even more than the profit itself. When they have open positions, nothing can keep them away from the charts. They just need to look at how many points the price has passed. Even when they don’t look at the chart, all their thoughts are preoccupied with the question “How much did I lose or earn?”. They can’t fight the urge and constantly look at their account and get stuck there for a long time watching the price.
Consequences of Such Behavior
Emotions can be extremely tiring. Especially if one emotion is constantly replacing another. This is exactly what happens when you look closely at the charts. You feel joy when the price goes in your direction. Joy gives way to upset when the chart changes direction. And vice versa.
Such emotional swings are very exhausting. A breakdown can lead to a number of trading mistakes:
- Closing trades ahead of time
- Holding a losing trade for too long
- Opening trades indiscriminately, even when there are no suitable signals on the chart, etc.
How to Stop Looking at Charts
There are many effective ways to deal with emotions:
- Concentration
- Fighting old habits and acquiring new ones
- Visualization
- NLP
- Per-minute planning of the day and so on
However, most of these methods require a lot of effort and time. You should definitely consider using one or several of them for a long-term effect.
But right now, you can take advantage of three instant tricks to help you look less at charts:
- Use high timeframes. The higher the timeframe, the less noticeable the price fluctuations. This makes watching the charts less fun and that’s exactly what you need. Depending on your trading style, use the highest possible timeframe - H4 or even D1. When the entertainment aspect is excluded, you will spend in front of charts no more than half an hour a day.
- Reduce the trading lot. Most traders constantly look at the chart because they worry about their money. So the less you risk, the less you worry. Reduce the size of your trading lot several times. And if you already traded in small volumes, then you can switch to a cent account. Thus, the level of stress and the need to observe your profit/loss will come to naught. Over time, your confidence will grow and you can gradually increase your trading lot.
- Set a profit/loss limit for a day. This method doesn’t exclude the desire to observe the movement of price. However, as soon as your profit or loss reaches the set level and you close the charts, your stress caused by trading will be eliminated until the end of the day.
Final Words
I can’t come up with any positive aspect of constant monitoring of charts. It brings you constant stress and a surge of emotions and also you begin to make many trading mistakes. Moreover, just think about how much time you will save if you stop spending it watching the price movement. Try using the tricks from this article and see it for yourself.