Quitting can be tempting, when things begin to get tough, boring or you simply do not have enough time and money, it is very easy to put your trading tools down and walk away. But should you be doing that? Probably not. So why is it so easy to quit? There are a lot of reasons for it, but there are also a lot of things that you should be considering before you decide to throw in the towel. So let’s take a look at some of the things to consider before you quit trading.
Are you losing money?
One of the main reasons why people begin to trade in the first place. It can take a long time before you actually become profitable, what you need to be able to do is to consider whether or not you are at the position that you feel you should be for the amount of time that you have put in. Losing money is a normal part and we would consider it normal to still be potentially losing money when you are a year into your trading journal, if you are profitable by then, it is great, but many won’t be. If you are still losing money after two or three years, then maybe it is something that you need to consider. It will take time, but you need to have in mind how long you are willing to give it, you cannot continue for the next 10 years being unprofitable, that won’t be good for you or fun to do at all. So give yourself a timeframe for when you need to be profitable, if you are still not when you reach that point, then it could well be the time for you to consider leaving and giving something else a go instead.
Are you frequently changing strategy?
Another thing that can cause people to give up is simply not sticking to a single strategy for long enough. Most strategies will take time for you to learn them properly and so they will take time to become profitable. If after the first or second loss you are jumping to a new strategy then you may need to consider that you do not have the patience or dedication to become successful at trading. If you want a strategy to work, you need to be able to stick with it for an extended period of time. Not only will this allow it to actually be effective, but it will also increase your confidence levels in using it and trading as a whole. If you are constantly jumping between them, then you may need to find a hobby that doesn’t take so long to learn or to become competent at.
Do you plan your trades?
Many people get into trading without knowing all the effort and time that goes into or at least should go into each trade, and that is a problem. Those that are starting now want to get in and just start trading, you need to consider whether this is you or not. If you are the sort of person that just wants to go in and trade, without planning for it first then trading may not be for you. Trading in that way without the plan will only lead to losses and bad trades, this is not something that you want to be aiming for. Just jumping through timeframes looking for a trade, jumping between different trading signals, and simply not putting the effort in, trading may not be for you. You may get some short term gains, but trading like this, in the long run, will only lead to losses which will kill your motivation, if you are not willing to put the effort to plan your trades, then trading is not for you.
Do you have a trading journal?
I know what you are thinking, why would this be a reason to quit? Well, the simple fact is that if you do not have a trading journal, then you will struggle to ever become profitable. A trading journal is there for you to write down and record everything that you do, the trades, the analysis, the profits, losses, and more. You are then able to outlook back on it in order to find trends or errors in your trading, this allows you to adapt and develop your own trading to help negate any errors that you may have been making. Without one, you are pretty much trading blind, not something that is recommended at all, so if you do not have one and are unwilling to create one, your chances of becoming successful are very slim, and something that you should potentially think of giving up.
Are you excited by trading?
You would think that anyone that trades would be enjoying it, but they are not. Many people have a very black and white mentality, if they are making money they are happy if they are losing then they are unhappy. Then there are the people that enjoy it regardless of the outcome, those are the people that will eventually make the best traders. There are also those people who just do not enjoy it at all, these are the people who find it hard work to actually trade and these are the people who should not be trading at all, if you do not enjoy it, do not do it. Even those that are only happy when winning will struggle at times and may find it too hard to bear when they have multiple losses in a row, which is more common than you may think and everyone will experience these losing runs at some point during their trading career.
Are you expecting to get rich quick?
This is a false expectation that a lot of new traders come with, they have seen all the adverts and the scams stating that they will be able to make a lot of money overnight. If this is you, then we would suggest closing down that trading terminal and walking away, it just is not going to happen. Trading is a long process, if you are just here for the money then you need to move away, again, it just won’t happen, we do not need to say much more than that.
Those are some of the things that you need to consider when you are thinking about quitting. Trading and forex is not an easy thing to do, there will be times when you struggle and times when you are not happy, you need a lot of dedication and it is hard work. If you are happy with all of that then it’s great, it can be a fantastic opportunity for you, but if you struggle with them, then this may not be the hobby for you.
