Don’t get carried away – consistency is the key!

When trading on any stock market it is easy to look at early positive results and think yourself bullet-proof. In fact, the world’s impression of stock traders in many cases tends to picture them as extremely sure of themselves and convinced that they alone hold the secrets that create wealth. This is due in no small part to the fact that, not all that long ago, that was exactly how the typical market trader behaved. It would be easy to sneer at people for behaving in that way, but the stakes involved in the world’s big markets create that kind of attitude. If your every decision can mean several figures of profit or loss, you need to at least appear confident.

There is a fine line between self-assurance and over-confidence. There is an equally small space between the relatively self-assured confidence of a trader who has just had a moderate success and the complete blind panic of someone who has just seen their positions tumble. As far as possible, you have to remain constant in your emotions when trades are live. Most traders will set stop-loss and take-profit positions on their trades, which enable them to get out while there is still time to protect some money, or to cash out before a rising stock hits difficulties. These are cautionary steps, and can be very worthwhile.

Never assume that you alone hold all the secrets. It only takes one thread to be pulled for the whole thing to come apart, and make you look very stupid. It is better to be cautious and have a house, than be impulsive and homeless.