It’s a very simple question as to whether you enjoy trading or not, however even some of the simplest questions can be quite hard to answer if you look into things in a little more detail, with a little more depth, you can find out exactly how you feel about something, and for many, it may not actually be how it seems on the outside. There are a lot of aspects to Forex trading. Some people will enjoy some of them, like the wining, and others will find it absolutely tedious, such as all the numbers. It really comes down to your personality and your likes and dislikes as to whether you will enjoy your trading journey.
Trading is tough and trading takes a lot of deduction and discipline, if you believe that you are a free spirit, someone who cannot be held down, then trading can seem from the outside like it would be perfect for you, no boss, no set working time, however, in reality, the markets will ultimately control you and will be in charge of you. You will be forced to work certain hours, you will be punished when you do things wrong and you will unfortunately have all of that without the stability of a guaranteed monthly wage.
Trading can be incredibly exciting and incredibly rewarding, especially when you are on a roll of positive trades. Each and every win will give you a little bit of excitement and a little confirmation that you are doing something correctly. What about when things go wrong? When you make a loss, it is of course not an enjoyable situation to be in. What you need to think about is how you deal with that loss, how are you coping with losses? Do they stress you out, do they cause frustration? If they do, then you may not find trading to be very enjoyable in the long run.
There will be a lot of losses along your trading journey, if you are not able to deal with them without stress or to be able to move those loose out of your mind in order to move on then there is a good chance that you may begin to find trading stressful and not all that enjoyable once the losses begin to build up, and they most certainly will begin to build up. Being able to deal with those losses and being able to clear your mind will really help you remain positive. Just remember that those losses are coming, there will always be losses, so dealing with them is paramount. Just remember to consider your overall enjoyment when deciding to trade, if you get caught up on losses, then this may not be the hobby or career for you.
Numbers, lots of numbers, do you like numbers? If not then trading won’t be an enjoyable thing for you. The Majority of trading, the analysing, the planing, and the actual trading is all based around numbers, be it the value of a currency or the current Fibonacci levels. Numbers will be involved in everything that you do. For those that like maths and statistics, trading will be an amazing experience, it allows you to analyse all sorts of things and will keep you busy pretty much every day. However, if you are not a fan of numbers and performing mathematical sums, then trading could be a little boring and a little tedious as you begin to realise that it is pretty much all based around those pesky numbers.
How are you when being by yourself for an extended period of time? If you struggle to keep yourself company, then it can be a difficult journey. The majority of trading is not a highly social event, in fact, the majority of the time you will be sat by yourself in front of the computer, reading, trading, and keeping yourself entertained. Of course, there are times where you will take to others there are forums and other message boards available to talk to other like-minded people, but this is still all digital and many other traders do not actually come into physical contact with any other active traders.
Are you able to keep yourself occupied, do you feel lonely when alone, and do you cope well with isolation? These are pretty big questions that you need to ask yourself, there are those that are able to entertain themselves or in fact enjoy the aspect of isolation. If that is you then you could really start to enjoy trading, you are in total control, but that also means control of your moods and your interactions with others. If it starts to get too much, then you may need to look at trading in smaller chunks and using the time between to get outside and interact with others. However, if you like the isolation, like a lot of people do, then not needing to deal with other people and the issues that come with people management, then this could certainly be the career for you, it will be just you, your computer, and the markets.
Do you need direction? One thing that a lot of people hate about their job is receiving instructions on what they need to do, but it isn’t until you have left that job that you come to realise that you actually needed that direction and those instructions. Many people find it hard to prioritise and to plan their days, and without some there to help you through it can often feel a little lost. Being a trader, full time or part-time, requires a certain amount of self-direction and planning. You need to plan your day, you need to ensure that you are motivated to do it and you need to be able to evaluate your own performance on it. If you are not able to plan your days properly then you may find trading an extremely stressful experience. Those able to work well by themselves will find relief in the fact that they do not have someone above them managing them, of course, the markets will still be in charge.
How are you with self-motivation and self-discipline? If you notice that you are doing something wrong are you able to correct yourself? Being a trader means being able to motivate yourself to do the work and being able to tell yourself when you are doing something badly. In terms of your enjoyment of trading, motivation will go a lot way, if you are not motivated and not able to self motivate yourself then you will struggle to enjoy it. The most common reason for losing motivation is boredom, and that is something that you will potentially experience a lot during a solo trading career, so being able to give yourself that boost is paramount to any form of success.
The same can be said for discipline, if you are not able to discipline yourself to give yourself some honest feedback on your trading abilities and performance, then you will only continue to make mistakes These mistakes will lead to a loss in motivation and will diminish your overall enjoyment of trading. So if you are able to self reflect on your performance, you may well enjoy it, but if you are not, then it could be a difficult and demoralising journey for you.
So those are some of the things that you need to be able to think about. Trading can be very enjoyable for some, but others it can be a real mood and motivation killer. It will ultimately come down to your personality and the way that you are able to deal with boredom, stress, and all the other emotions that come along with trading.
