There are a number of different arguments going around as to whether trading should be fun, some seem to think that you should be concentrating and being serious the whole time, others feel that you need to enjoy something that you are going to be a lot of. There are pros and cons to both of those arguments and the truth is that there are times when it should be fun, and times when it should be taken seriously. So when do you know when you should be doing what and should you be having fun when trading?
There are a number of different stages to trading and the development of a plan and your trading mentality, these different stages often have different emotions that come with them. If we look at when you just started out, you are probably having a lot more fun, things are new to you, they are exciting, so you want to enjoy this stage in your trading career. It is a time when you are able to experiment in order to find what works for you, and this experimentation can be the most fun that you will have with trading, there are far fewer rules, and you are free to do what you want. However, it is important that you do not get carried away with it, and you should certainly be doing this on a demo account and nota live account.
This is also the stage when you may start to look for some guidance, how this goes will depend entirely on the sort of trainer or mentor that you decide to use. There Are some that are very light-hearted, allowing for mistakes and having fun and banter along the way, then there are the more serious ones, they are not there to have fun, they are there to make money and will expect you to have the same mentality. If you chose this sort of trainer then you will be expected to work hard and not simply mess about finding your feet.
This brings us to the second phase of your trading planning. This is where you are going to be creating your actual plan, for many this is the least fun and least exciting part of trading, yet others find it fascinating as this is going to define everything that you will be doing going forward. This is where there needs to be a lot more focus, you need to be able to decide with some conviction what you are going to be doing, messing about and just having fun in this stage could cause a lot of issues in the future, so you will need to buckle down, even if it does feel a little boring and tedious to do.
So the final stage of your trading plan and mindset is basically looking to always improve and to master your own strategy while working on this, it will take a lot of hard work, there will be many ups and downs, but what is important is that you remain consistent and that you develop discipline in order to remain on track and hopefully profitable. At this stage of your trading career, it won’t necessarily be the most exciting or the most fun, you will be going through a routine, which a lot of people often find a little boring, so while the trading may not be fun, the results certainly can be.
When we talk about results, we are of course referring to the potential profits that you can now be made using these on things that bring you happiness or to pay off bills which gives you some financial freedom. This is the part of trading that most enjoy the most and this is the result of your hard work beforehand. All those not so fun things you had to do and not so fun nights are finally starting to pay off and you will be able to have some fun with your trading.
Of course, for many, the actual trading is not necessarily fun, just the rewards are. However, for many traders, the actual trading can also be a great aspect to it, if this is you, then trading could be the perfect thing for you. If you enjoy the hard work, the numbers, and the creation of a strategy, then trading certainly can be all fun for you, but you still need to understand that there will be times where you need to step away from the fun and to be a little more serious.
One way that you can look at trading is in a similar way that you do to an elite athlete, they are required to put in a lot of work, a lot of work that may not actually be that enjoyable, while some athletes may like running laps, many do not, but hey know that they are required to do it if they want to be the best and if they want to make their living. Trading is much the same, you need to put that work in, you need to practice your strategy over and over until you have perfected it, but once you have done that, you will begin to see the rewards and it will all be worth it and you will finally begin to enjoy your trading.
