WHY DISCIPLINE, NOT STRATEGY, IS THE KEY TO TRADING SUCCESS.

All traders have goals specific to them; i.e. their reason for getting into trading, and what they hope to achieve from it. There’s also the collective goal of making profit that binds all traders to one mindset; not losing to the markets.

There is also the use of strategy. Don’t get me wrong, discipline is still of utmost importance, but strategy is a non negotiable on it’s own.

Every trader is advised to maintain the art of increasing their knowledge so that they can attain the strategy they would confidently employ in delving into the markets on their trading days.

Hence the reason i’m highlighting the importance of strategy, but even your strategy is useless and can’t even be achieved , without discipline.

Here are reasons you should immensely consider being strict with your discipline in order to achieve the success you crave in your trading career.

Avoidance Of Impulsive Decisions:

Discipline will prevent any and every trader from making impulsive trading decisions based on market noises or short term fluctuations. This steadiness helps you to stay focused on your long term goals rather than being swept in momentary excitements of probable gains due to the market fluctuating.

Emotional Control:

In the process of learning how to navigate the market, every trader would have encountered a loss that would hurt enough for them to consider entering another trade to immediately recover what they lost. Let’s be honest, every loss hurts. So, mastering the art of controlling your emotions will prevent you from further hurt that is caused by revenge trading.

Consistent Performance:

Discipline ensures that you follow your trading plan consistently, leading to more reliable results over time. A consistent performance is essential for building long term success.

Effective Risk Management:

When you’re disciplined, you will have no problem sticking to your risk management rules, like setting and tightening your stop loss orders, monitoring the market before placing your trades. This way, your capital is protected and potential losses are minimized, which is vital for your longevity in the world of trading.

Adapting And Learning:

A disciplined trader is ever ready to crosscheck their methods to see what went wrong, went right, and what is worth permanently incorporating into their trading strategy. This reflective practice enables them to learn from their mistakes and adapt their approach, overall aiding in improving their trading skills over time.

I will explain why strategy is useless without discipline in four major points that are easy to remember.

Inconsistent Execution:

Consistency is required in anything that isn’t short term. Even the best trading strategy may fail if you don’t follow it consistently. Without discipline, you might subconsciously skip steps or make a change in your approach based on different reasons like emotions, revenge trading, that will eventually lead to unpredictable results.

Loss:

The trap of revenge trading is not talked about often enough with how much it occurs in traders of every kind; even those with larger accounts. Trying to get what you lost to the market, will have you deviating from your strategy. Most times, this just results in an even bigger loss that could have been avoided.

Ignoring Risk Management:

Every solid strategy used by a well versed trader certainly involves the use of disciplined rules regarding their risk management. When you lack discipline, you’ll ignore the rules that upheld your. successful strategy up till that point, end up risking months of growth in your account on a single trade, that will end up causing a wipe out. You certainly don’t and shouldn’t want this.

Failure To Learn:

Discipline will help you analyze your performance and stick to a trading plan. Your strategy won’t be at stake due to stoic adherence to routine. Without it, you probably won’t consider taking time out to review your trades and end up missing out on valuable lessons that could improve your strategy over time.

Discipline is the foundation that supports all the aspects of a successful trading journey, while strategy serves as the pillars. The pillars hold up yur career, but none would exist solidly without the foundation; Discipline.