Absolutely Critical for Success

Knowing the Market Isn’t Enough

If you have some trading experience, chances are you’ve got a general sense of how the market works. You know the lingo. You understand the charts. But here’s the tough truth: knowing the market isn’t enough.

In trading, there’s one critical component that every successful trader needs: having the discipline to resist the urge to take mediocre setups and only taking the best ones.

And I mean only the best. When you’re trading, you’ve got to resist every single one of those kinda-looks-good-trades. It’s that urge to just do something that wipes out accounts. Experienced traders keep preaching that sitting on your hands is an irreplaceable skill if you want to make it.

Only Take the Best Setups

Think about this: how many times have you seen a setup that looked decent but wasn’t exactly what you’d call A+? Maybe you saw a pattern, or you got that itch to get into the action – you don’t want to miss out, right? But the real pros? They’re out here waiting, sometimes going days or weeks for that one setup that checks every single box. Why? Because they know that one high-quality setup can be worth 10 mediocre ones. Imagine taking just a single, solid trade per month. If that trade nets you 10%, you could turn a $10k account into a million in just four years.

We’re born to want to do something, especially if you’re watching the charts all day, every day. Look at it this way: every time you enter a trade without absolute confidence and solid setup, you’re essentially flipping a coin, hoping it goes your way. Also known as gambling. Gambling might give you a few wins here and there, giving you the sensation of success, but it’s a road to going bust.

Feel Good or Make Money

Just stop making trades for getting that feel-good sensation. From the perspective of human psychology, it’s the same as getting drunk or doing drugs. Feels good for a short time, but the consequences usually aren’t that good.

It’s a choice between feeling good and getting good results. Good results follow hours and hours of patient waiting — something that isn’t an intuitive choice for someone looking to feel good or get rich.

Success in trading literally means staring at the screen and doing nothing until all your signal lights are green. If you can’t stomach this and need action, you’d better choose a different profession.