This article written by Bruce Bower was originally published in the June 2013 issue of Traders' Magazine.
- Bruce Bower is a portfolio manager at a hedge fund. He has a keen interest in markets, psychology and self-development, having trained as a hypnotherapist.
In school, did you ever study something and end up more confused? For some, trading psychology has that effect. The more they learned, the more they would become confused. Actually, the standard advice is well-meaning and can be appealing on some levels. “Be more disciplined”. “Get in the zone”. Who can argue with that? Who wouldn’t want to do that?! Instead, most traders are struggling to close the gap between where they are and where they want to be. They know what they want, but they can’t quite get there. What to do? Ultimately, trading psychology should help us do two things: 1. Help us to identify problematic areas with ourselves that negatively impact our trading. 2. Solve them.
If you’re spending time “solving” problems that aren’t relevant to your trading, or implementing solutions that don’t work, then you are going to get confused. Instead, you should work on things that make you a better trader. And you know what — confusion doesn’t help you to get better at trading. With this in mind, how do we find out the best advice and block out the stuff that confuses us?
Editors’ Picks
EUR/USD retreats toward 1.0800 after US data
EUR/USD has lost its traction and declined toward 1.0800 with the initial reaction to the upbeat consumer confidence data from the US. Meanwhile, Wall Street's negative opening seems to be helping the US Dollar find its footing and making it hard for the pair to stretch higher.
GBP/USD clings to modest daily gains near 1.2300
GBP/USD has retreated to the 1.2300 area in the early American session with the US Dollar finding demand amid the negative shift witnessed in risk mood. The data from the US revealed that the CB Consumer Confidence Index rose modestly in March.
USD/JPY pares intraday losses amid positive risk tone, keeps the red around 131.15-20 area
The USD/JPY pair comes under some renewed selling pressure on Tuesday and reverses a major part of the previous day's goodish recovery gains. Spot prices, however, manage to recover a few pips from the daily low and climb back to the 131.00 mark during the early European session.
Editors’ Picks
EUR/USD retreats toward 1.0800 after US data
EUR/USD has lost its traction and declined toward 1.0800 with the initial reaction to the upbeat consumer confidence data from the US. Meanwhile, Wall Street's negative opening seems to be helping the US Dollar find its footing and making it hard for the pair to stretch higher.
GBP/USD clings to modest daily gains near 1.2300
GBP/USD has retreated to the 1.2300 area in the early American session with the US Dollar finding demand amid the negative shift witnessed in risk mood. The data from the US revealed that the CB Consumer Confidence Index rose modestly in March.
Gold pulls away from session highs, holds near $1,960
After having climbed toward $1,970 earlier in the day, Gold price erased a portion of its daily gains and retreated to the $1,960 area. The benchmark 10-year US Treasury bond yield stays in positive territory above 3.5%, not allowing XAU/USD to gather further bullish momentum.
Ethereum (ETH) options traders turn bearish ahead of the token unlock
Ethereum is holding steady above the $1,700 level despite slight bearish sentiment among options traders. Analysts have noted a rise in open interest in Ethereum, as co-founder Lubin assures that the altcoin is not a security.
S&P 500: With banking crisis in rear view, market pushes index closer to 4,000
The S&P 500 on Monday moved ahead cautiously without much fanfare after the US government agreed to sell $72 billion worth of Silicon Valley Bank assets to First Citizens Bank (FCNCA).
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