Yesterday I was talking with an ‘under-performing’ professional trader.  Matt (not his real name) has had periods of success, but lacks consistency and complained about the wild swings in his P&L. 

 

Sound familiar?

 

Like other traders, Matt comes to the game prepared. He does his homework. 

 

In his search for consistency Matt has examined the fit between his personality and trading style. He’s taken personality tests, traded different asset classes, explored different time frames, etc. But he finds himself making the same mistakes. 

 

It takes more than the right fit.  More than a good plan. The real job of a trader is to identify opportunity and define risk….pretty much simultaneously.

 

Which one are you better at?

 

The majority of traders tend to focus more on identifying opportunity. Traders may define their risk, but how they respond to the risk in behavioral terms is what ultimately defines their performance.

 

If you’ve tried visualization, NLP, affirmations, etc and you still make the same mistakes, what’s left? Chances are it will take more than those things.   If you’re serious about changing how you respond to opportunity or risk, consider my Advanced Course in trading psychology. Three out of four traders who’ve tried it have changed for the better.