How to Overcome Perfectionism in Forex Trading: 7 Proven Steps

Hello, ladies and gentlemen. I would like to continue the topic touched on in the webinar "Why 90% of Traders Lose in Forex". Namely, the striving to be perfect, perfectionism.

You have probably at times reflected on those moments when you closed a position too early, only to see the price continue rising, perhaps beyond your target profit level. Or when you closed your position at a loss, only for the market to turn back and continue moving according to your strategy; or perhaps it was a case where you did not enter the market because the setup was not quite right or the market price did not reach the level you needed for entry, so you missed the opportunity and did not come out a winner. Similarly, you may also have had times when luck was on your side in such situations. The nature of the markets and human nature creates an environment of imperfection. Deep down, perfectionism is a wonderful quality, but when expressed to an extreme degree it can often be destructive and, quite likely, become an obstacle for you as a Forex trader.

So the biggest question is whether you have a tendency toward perfectionism.

Does this sound like you?

Perfectionists suffer from setting excessively high standards, fear of failure, procrastination, never being satisfied with their successes, and they can become emotionally unbalanced if their standards are not met, which can often happen in trading; they fear competition, are resistant to learning, meticulous in their way of thinking, overly self-critical and intolerant of mistakes, and may also be prone to a high level of fear of possible failure.

Fear of losses, hesitation, fear of pulling the trigger, falling into extreme frustration or anger when your trading strategy fails or when you miss the moment to enter a position, or being extremely self-critical in your forex trading, may all be evidence that you have a tendency toward perfectionism.

One way to test yourself for a tendency toward perfectionism is the presence of the words “should” and “must” in your vocabulary or thinking.

So, if you do have some tendency toward perfectionism, what can you do?

1. One of the most useful things and important principles to remember is that human beings are prone to making mistakes, that is, they are imperfect, and therefore you, as a Forex trader, are also prone to making mistakes, that is, you too are imperfect. Following this principle as one of your trading beliefs, as part of your mental map, can be very helpful because it will keep your reactions to events more realistic and less emotionally charged.

2. Since you operate in an imperfect and uncertain environment, it is extremely important for you to learn to think in probabilities. Interestingly, research conducted in behavioral finance consistently shows that people are not naturally very effective at drawing conclusions or thinking probabilistically, so this is a skill that many people need to develop in themselves. Mark Douglas, the author of the book "Trading in the Zone", writes: “every trade has a probabilistic outcome that does not exclude the possibility of losses.” A shift in thinking from the concept of perfection to the concept of probability will help shape trading behavior that improves the quality of your trades and your reactions to events.

3. Do your best to strive for excellence rather than obsessing over being the best; set yourself the goal of becoming a good trader, but not the best in the world, and focus on that. Focus on learning and improvement, including understanding that you accept mistakes and learn from them.

4. Focus on your trading process, not just the outcome. By focusing on your trading process, you shield yourself from some of the anxiety and frustration that arise when you become too attached to your results. Try to focus on how well you are trading, not only on how much money you have made or lost.

5. Train yourself to accept the challenge in trading and to find enjoyment in what you do. The process of gaining pleasure together with learning is the foundation of effectiveness. By accepting this, you will also allow yourself to look at the ups and downs of trading from another angle, and this reframing of the situation will give you a different perception of these events, with less frustration and emotional turmoil.

6. It is important to note that the ability to see defeats and drawdowns in Forex as opportunities for learning is not self-condemnation. One of the shortcomings of a perfectionist can be a negative reaction to mistakes, errors, and an inability to learn from them. Mistakes give us broad opportunities for learning and improving effectiveness, but only when we truly perceive them as such.

7. Finally, it is important to learn to accept that your personal worth is not your net worth, that you are a worthy person regardless of your trading results at any given moment. At a fundamental and deep level, this is a key belief for optimal human functioning, a sense of happiness, and successful trading.

You will not win every trade. And that is absolutely normal. Remember that people are prone to making mistakes in an uncertain environment: the world of perfection is unattainable; we live in a probabilistic world.

Best regards, Pavel TradeLikeaPro.ru

1. Odna iz samykh poleznykh veshchey i vazhnykh printsipov, kotorye neobkhodimo pomnit, eto to, chto chelovek sklonen oshibatsya (chto on nesovershenen) i, sledovatelno, vy, buduchi foreks treyderom, takzhe sklonny sovershat oshibki (chto vy takzhe nesovershenny). Sledovanie etomu printsipu, kak odnomu iz vashikh torgovykh ubezhdeniy, kak chasti vashey mentalnoy karty, mozhet byt ochen polezno v tom plane, chto ono sokhranit vashi reaktsii na sobytiya bolee realistichnymi i menee emotsionalno nasyshchennymi.

2. Poskolku vy rabotaete v nesovershennoy i neopredelennoy srede, krayne vazhno dlya vas nauchitsya myslit veroyatnostyami. Interesno, chto issledovaniya, provedennye v sfere povedencheskikh finansov, neizmenno pokazyvayut, chto lyudi ne umeyut nastolko effektivno delat vyvody ili myslit veroyatnostno, chto eto yavlyaetsya tem navykom, kotoryy mnogim lyudyam neobkhodimo budet v sebe razvit. Mark Duglas (avtor knigi "Zonalnyy Treyding") pishet: «kazhdaya torgovaya sdelka imeet veroyatnostnyy rezultat, kotoryy ne isklyuchaet vozmozhnost ubytkov». Sdvig v myshlenii ot kontseptsii sovershenstva k kontseptsii veroyatnosti budet sposobstvovat formirovaniyu torgovogo povedeniya, kotoroe pozvolyaet povysit kachestvo sdelok i reagirovaniya na sobytiya.

3. Staraytes delat vse vozmozhnoe, chtoby stremitsya k sovershenstvu, a ne zatsiklivatsya na tom, chtoby byt luchshim; postavte sebe tsel stat khoroshim treyderom (no ne luchshim v mire) i sosredotochtes  na ney. Sosredotochtes na obuchenii i sovershenstvovanii, vklyuchaya ponimanie togo, vy prinimaete oshibki i uchites na nikh.

4. Sosredotochtes na svoem torgovom protsesse, a ne tolko na rezultate. Fokusiruyas na svoem torgovom protsesse, vy ogorazhivaete sebya ot nekotorykh trevog i razocharovaniy, kotorye imeyut mesto, kogda vy slishkom privyazany k svoim rezultatam. Staraytes sosredotachivatsya na tom, kak khorosho vy torguete, a ne tolko na tom, skolko deneg vy zarabotali ili poteryali.

5. Obuchaytes prinimat vyzov v treydinge i iskat naslazhdenie v tom, chto vy delaete. Protsess polucheniya udovolstviya naryadu s obucheniem - osnova effektivnosti. Prinimaya eto, vy takzhe pozvolite sebe vzglyanut na vzlety i padeniya v treydinge pod drugim uglom, i eto pereosmyslenie situatsii dast vam vozmozhnost poluchit drugoe vospriyatie etikh sobytiy, s menshimi razocharovaniyami i emotsionalnymi potryaseniyami.

6. Vazhno otmetit, chto umenie videt porazheniya i prosadki na foreks, kak vozmozhnosti dlya obucheniya, ne yavlyaetsya samoosuzhdeniem. Odnim iz nedostatkov perfektsionista mozhet yavlyatsya ego negativnaya reaktsiya na oshibki, zabluzhdeniya i nesposobnost izvlekat iz nikh uroki. Oshibki predostavlyayut nam shirokie vozmozhnosti dlya obucheniya i povysheniya effektivnosti, no tolko togda, kogda my realno vosprinimaem ikh, kak takovye.

7. I, nakonets, nemalovazhno nauchitsya prinimat, chto vashe lichnoe sostoyanie ne yavlyaetsya vashim sobstvennym kapitalom – chto vy dostoynaya lichnost nezavisimo ot vashikh torgovykh rezultatov v lyuboy moment vremeni. Na fundamentalnom i glubokom urovne eto yavlyaetsya klyuchevym ubezhdeniem dlya optimalnogo funktsionirovaniya chelovecheskogo organizma, oshchushcheniya schastya i uspeshnoy torgovli.

Vy ne vyigraete kazhduyu sdelku. I eto absolyutno normalno. Pomnite, chto lyudyam svoystvenno oshibatsya v neopredelennoy obstanovke – mir sovershenstva nedosyagaem; my zhivem v veroyatnostnom mire.

S uvazheniem, Pavel TradeLikeaPro.ru