Don’t force anything, don’t go against the market or yourself, and ignore other opportunities that don’t suit you. Don't have any wishful thinking that you can be a superman who can make money in any market at any time. Perfect trading is like breathing; you inhale and exhale like entering and exiting a trade. Be sure to be calm and relaxed. Look for those opportunities that are visible. Be sure to stay focused and alert. Remove yourself from the hot market. Be an observer and wait for opportunities to come. Don't trade markets you can't understand, and don't think you have to trade every swing. There are always many opportunities that match your personality and your ability to read the market.
Don’t be confrontational. Trading is not a war. The market isn't chasing you, it doesn't even realize you exist. In fact, it has absolutely no interest in it. Gold doesn't know you bought them. They do what they're supposed to do, you just adapt to them. The market is your boss. You follow it and get paid, or you resist and get kicked out; just like you don't fight the ocean, you just swim in it. If you find yourself in an incorrect trend, don't try to change the direction of the trend, but find another appropriate trend.
Don’t guess. Don't impose your personal emotions on the market, and don't expect the market to care about you. The market is neither hostile nor friendly. It just exists, that's all. You have the freedom to choose to participate or withdraw. Trading is the ultimate freedom. The gold market is filled with endless opportunities for profit and loss. And it all depends on your choice. The market provides you with opportunities, and you should open your mind to understand the special language of the gold market. The market has only one language, and that is the language composed of price, trading volume and market pace. Any tool you use to interpret the market is a derivative of this language. In addition to the dialogue between the market and you, other miscellaneous things will only interfere with you and make you unclear about the actual price, trading volume and market pace.
Forget for a moment that your money is in dire straits in the market. The money in your trading account is just a tool used to make money. Maintain your money-making tools, you need these tools to make more money; stopping losses can prevent serious damage to this tool. There is no certainty in the gold market, everything is presented in the form of probability. Therefore, stop losses are inevitable and part of trading. If the market shows that your position is wrong, you must decisively stop the loss and exit. That way, the tool has a chance to continue to work for you. Once you make a mistake, admit it immediately. Occasionally gold will shock you out and then rebound immediately, but don't ignore your stop loss because of this. You can always re-establish a position, but once a loss occurs, it is usually difficult to recover. Every loss represents a lesson, and you must decide how much to pay for that lesson. Never pay too high a price. Think of trading as a never-ending overall process and don't overemphasize the importance of a single transaction. Any transaction is only part of the whole. Give yourself permission to admit your loss and move on.
Don’t make transactions out of revenge or because you need money urgently. The gold market doesn't understand your situation, it's just a huge space where all other traders' actions are connected. It doesn’t give you something back just because you need something in return. You are the one in control. It all depends on your ability to make money from the market or lose it to other market participants.
When traders participate in market behavior, they are putting funds in a big pot. From the moment they start trading, the money is ownerless money. Anyone with skill can plunder it; when traders put their money in, they are already prepared to lose it. If you're willing to take that risk, put your capital on the table, like everyone else. Then don't feel guilty when you win money in this big pot. It is important to understand that risk is an integral part of trading. When you exchange a commodity (banknotes) with a smaller price fluctuation for another commodity (gold or other trading object) with a larger price fluctuation, you choose to take risks. You do this because this price movement is exactly what you need to make a profit. Opportunities also come with risks, and you can't just take one of them.
Trading can sometimes seem boring. This is normal. You don't trade for the thrill of it. You might sit in front of your computer for hours doing nothing. This is not a profession where you are paid by the hour, but by the right decisions you make.
And often the right choice is to stay away from market behavior. If you want excitement, look elsewhere. Try to learn to find the joy of self-control and accept that boredom is part of successful trading.
Never say: "I know what the market is going to do." No, you don't know, and no one knows; you should think: "No matter how the market changes today, I know what I should do." Pre-plan responses to every possible situation. This is the absolute freedom and security you have. As long as you imagine the whole set of "if..., then..." scenarios, the market will have nothing to do with you. In these scenarios, the "if" refers to the market's behavior and the "then" refers to your response. You can't control how the market develops, but you can control and adjust your response.
Decide what you want to trade. If it is a trend, then follow the trend. If it is a range, then operate against the trend. In an upward trend, buy high and sell high, and in a downward trend, sell low and cover low. In the range, buy low and sell high. If you want to trade a trend reversal, don't rely on price data. Never buy just because "the price is cheap enough" or short because "the price is expensive enough". You also need a clear basis. Define your signals. The only valid reason for you to execute a trade is based on the signal reflected by your system. The rest involves emotions. Never let emotions interfere with your operational decisions. When your trading system gives an entry signal, don't hesitate to open a position. When your trading system issues a sell signal, close the trade promptly. If you have doubts about your trading system, do a paper simulation test first. If your trading system is still in the testing process, do not place actual trades. Build positive confidence in trading. It’s important to understand the gains and losses involved in a transaction. An ambitious trading strategy can maximize your profits when you make the right decision, but it can also reduce the number of times you make the right decision. The opposite strategy increases your chances of being right but reduces your potential profit on each trade. Stay flexible. Revise your trading system in response to market changes. Adjust your ambitions and choose an appropriate trading structure based on the market conditions you are currently dealing with. Always check whether your actions comply with current market conditions.
Defining what a loser is:
Losers think they are smarter than the market.
Losers think they have all the answers.
Losers believe that there must be some secret system and instructions in the market.
Losers think they can avoid losses.
Losers don’t use stop losses because they think they are right after all.
Write down all of these characteristics of losers and review yourself often to see if similar characteristics appear. Don't set yourself up to be a loser. Define the way winners think. Write down all the characteristics of a successful trader, read them often and measure your distance from them. Use comparisons like this to find your weaknesses and analyze how to improve them. Be absolutely honest with yourself. Anything you don't review yourself, the market will eventually remind you, and this reminder will not be a very pleasant experience.
Friends, no matter what setbacks you encounter in the market, it is not its fault. It's not the fault of any market maker or professional. Nor is it some mysterious behind-the-scenes manipulator or evil short seller. It's always your fault. You make decisions and implement them. It's your choice to participate or not. Please take full and 100% responsibility. Be yourself. Don't complain or explain. A sense of responsibility brings control; you have complete control over yourself, and trading is an absolute test of self-control. At the beginning, you may feel cold and uncomfortable, and feel that you are living alone in a fortress. In the end, it all pays off when you get the edge and feel what it feels like to be at the top. Original text: What kind of mentality should a trader have