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NIAL FULLER Nial Fuller
Professional Trader, Author & Coach

Make Your 2019 Forex Trading Resolution & Stick To It

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By in Forex Trading Blog December 21st, 2018 | 58 Comments

2019 new year trading resolution

When it comes to New Year’s resolutions, most people have already fallen off the wagon by the end of January. Any fitness club owner will tell you that memberships go way up around the first week of the year but most people stop going regularly within a month or two. It’s a sad but true fact of human nature that most of people simply lack the mental ‘tools’ to make a plan and stick to it.

I want you to be different in 2019 than you were in 2018. No matter what goals you think you failed to achieve in 2018, I want you to forget about that as it’s the past. The past is the past, as they say. All we can do is look to the future and try to correct our behavior so that we stick to our plans and improve ourselves in the upcoming New Year.

As traders, we all have areas of weakness that we want to strengthen and the New Year provides us with a fresh start, a blank slate if you will, to begin anew and try to rectify any big problems we may have had over the past year. I want you to take this lesson very seriously and actually do the exercises within it, because doing so (or not) could actually make or break your trading account for 2019.

Below, you will find a list of the major issues that I know my students face as well as how to solve them, broken down into small attainable goals that you can work on over a daily and weekly basis…

Exiting trades too early

How often during 2018 did you find yourself exiting trades too early? This can truly be a frustrating problem; exiting a trade right before it really takes off in your favor. You definitely aren’t going to get ahead as a trader by taking consistently small profits, because you need to hit some “home runs” every now and then to cover your losses and put you into the black. Here are some actionable tips on how you can stop exiting too early and start hanging on to those big moves in the market:

  • Remember, good trades take longer than you think to play out. Meaning, often a strong move will go much further than you think it can or will, the only factor that you don’t know is how long it will take to do so, and this is what trips most traders up. You need PATIENCE to hang on to winning trades and you also need to STOP looking at them soooo much. Trust me, when I say that checking in on your trades too often is like the “kiss of death” for a trader, I mean it because I’ve experienced it myself more times than I care to remember.
  • Have an exit strategy for your trades when you enter them, or rather, before you enter them. This way you aren’t leaving the exit up to a last-minute emotional decision, which usually will be the wrong one. Obviously, there are times when market conditions can change drastically and you may be justified in an early-exit, but this takes time and experience to know and it’s something you really shouldn’t do until you’ve proven to yourself that you can stick to a more rigid trade-exit plan. Pre-define your exit at a risk reward of 1:2 or greater on every trader you enter and simply STICK TO IT. Honestly, if you just did that one thing for 2019 you would probably end up way ahead of where you did for 2018. You’d be surprised how far just a little bit of self-discipline and consistent adherence to your predefined plan goes.

Being afraid to enter, missing out on good trades

How many times have you sat there and just stared at a pin bar signal that had multiple points of confluence behind it, but instead of taking the trade you proceeded to find twenty reasons why the trade “might not work out”? Many traders do this because they are afraid of losing money. Yes, you can lose money in trading, but you should already know that going in and the only way to minimize the emotional impacts of that is to reduce your risk per trade down to a level you can emotionally handle. Here are some actionable steps you can take to reduce and hopefully eliminate fear from screwing up your trading performance next year:

  • Don’t overthink a trade. If you see an obvious, high-quality price action signal that meets your trading plan criteria, set the trade up and walk way. Do not sit there digging through Google to find a bunch of reasons why the trade might not work! I have news for you, ANY trade can end up a loser! But what we are doing here is TRADING OUR EDGE and you have to trade your edge to have a chance of making money over the long-run. You will not make money if you think yourself out of every trade and behave like deer in the headlights.
  • Don’t risk more than you’re comfortable with losing per trade. This will work to greatly diminish the amount of fear you feel during the trading and trade analysis process. If you know your risk per trade is capped at a dollar amount that you can sleep soundly with, then you’re good to go.

Not being realistic about the nature of trading

Guess what? You’re going to lose some trades. Deal with it. But, in all seriousness, learning to lose properly is a prerequisite for making money as a trader. If you cannot manage your risk and control your impulses to over-trade, you’re going to end up losing too much money and you’ll blow out your account. Here are some actionable steps you can take this year to become more intune with the nature of the market and what is actually possible…

  • Remember: There is a random distribution of wins and losses for ANY given trading edge. No matter if you’re trading with my price action strategies or some other method, you will always have randomly distributed wins and losses. This means, you may have a 60% win rate over the course of a year, but you do not know WHICH trades will win and which will lose. So, with a 60% win rate, you could conceivably lose 4 trades in a row, out of 10, and over the course of 100 trades you could lose much more than 4 in a row and still be at 60% win rate. So, you have to ask yourself, “Am I man enough to handle a losing streak”? It comes down to managing your bankroll properly and not over-trading!
  • Stop expecting to get rich quick. What does “get rich quick” look like to the average Forex trader? It looks like: adding to your position just because your up, then the market turns around and suddenly that second position is negative, now what do you do? You screwed up your trade because you were trying to make money fast and being greedy. Be REALISTIC about what’s possible and don’t get dollar signs in your eyes. Remember, the market ebbs and flows and when a position is profitable and up a lot, the market may well reverse soon. If you’re going to pyramid into a position you need to do so after pull backs within the trend in most cases, not simply when the market is in your favor and probably over-extended in that direction.

Being greedy: Risking too much or trading too much

It’s been said a million times before and it never gets less true: Bulls make money, Bears make money but Pigs get SLAUGHTERED.

Do you want to make money or get “slaughtered” by the market? Seems like an obvious answer, right? Well, most traders behave as if they want to get slaughtered by the market. Here’s how to avoid that in 2019:

  • It seems obvious but let’s be honest you’re probably not doing this because most traders don’t; CONTROL YOUR RISK PER TRADE. How much $ are you risking per trade? Is that amount one that you can sleep comfortably with at night without having a sickening urge to go turn on your laptop at 3am and check what the markets are doing? Because if you are guilty of this, you’re going to lose a lot more than sleep, you’re going to lose your trading money and potentially more if you can’t control yourself.
  • If you’re trading too much you’re also being greedy, you’re just going about it a little different way. Traders tend to think if they aren’t risking too much they’re not being greedy, but even if you’re controlling your risk well, if you’re trading too frequently you’re still being greedy. You want to adopt a low frequency trading approach in 2019. That, combined with managing your risk, will work to eliminate the devastating effects of greed on your trading account.

Giving back profits

Does your trading account constantly go up and then right back down to where it started? You would like it to move consistently higher with only slight downside dips in between, right? Well, then you have to stop giving back all your profits. There are many reasons why traders give back their profits, but here are some points to help you overcome this problem in 2019:

  • You need to remove yourself from your computer and the charts after a winning trade. Do not sit there looking for another trade right away, chances are there isn’t one, but chances are if you sit there looking you will manifest one. Traders are at the highest risk of over-trading directly after exiting a winning trade. They feel good, they feel great, and whilst that is all well and good, you should go use that positive energy on something else, outside of trading, or you will end up giving back those profits you waiting so patiently to obtain.
  • If you are giving up profits because you simply aren’t securing them, you need to make a plan to secure those profits. I wrote an article a while back about a simple trade exit strategy that you can use to help you actually secure profits instead of letting them vanish into nothing.

Not having the right strategy or trading approach

Of course, if you don’t have the right trading strategy or any strategy (many traders don’t) you will be going nowhere, fast. You’d be surprised how many traders are simply “shooting from the hip” in the market, in other words, they are randomly entering with no real solidified approach or trading method.

I suggest you learn to read the price action on the charts and employ the price action based strategy that I teach, as this is the simplest and most “accurate” way to trade the markets. You do not need to cover your charts in messy indicators, this only works to complicate the entire trading process.

Conclusion

If your 2018 trading performance did not turn out how you wanted, there is only one thing you can do; learn from it and move on. There is no sense in fuming over “what might have been” and rehashing past mistakes over and over. Just learn from your mistakes and grow as a trader, use them as a tool to better yourself, don’t let them pull you down though.

Hopefully, the ideas and insight included in today’s lesson will give you the kick-start you need to tackle 2019 with a clear head and the proper trading mindset. Remember, large goals such as “becoming a successful or profitable trader” are not obtained overnight or all at once. Instead, they are the culmination of many smaller goals that you worked diligently to complete. Any lofty goal must be broken down into smaller, “consumable” pieces that are more realistic and measurable on a day to day basis. Hopefully, the lessons I have brought to you this year on this blog and that are explained further in my professional trading courses, will give you the ability to master each aspect of trading that you need to become a profitable trader.

It is my wish that each and every one of you have a Happy and profitable New Year. Thank You for following me and reading my lessons, I hope they have helped you and I look forward to helping you even more in 2019.  – Nial Fuller

Please Leave A Comment Below With Your Thoughts On This Lesson…

If You Have Any Questions, Please Contact Me Here.

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Nial Fuller

About Nial Fuller

is a Professional Trader, Investor & Author who is considered ‘The Authority’ on Price Action Trading. His blog is read by over 200,000+ followers and he has taught 25,000+ students since 2008. In 2016, Nial won the Million Dollar Trader Competition. Checkout Nial's Professional Trading Course here.
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  1. Beant kaur xtream

    Thank you for sharing best information

    Reply
  2. aman

    Thank you! This is a dedicated Blog

    Reply
  3. Hypolite OLua

    Thank you Nail, welcome to 2019 trading year.

    Reply
  4. Jeanne Robey

    It will be based upon the basics of poker and hence requires an individual achieve poker hands.
    Among the many controversy is the possibility of rigging.
    There are different rules for different varieties of the game.

    Reply
  5. KRISTOFA OKENTA

    Dear Nial, you have really been a ‘great’ blessing to most of your
    followers. Your sincere advise and mentoring through your blog
    is an ‘angel’ sent from above,
    Thank you.

    Reply
  6. kiki

    Thank you very very much for your dedication on helping people like me. Learning from my mistakes.
    Wish you a prosperous new year

    Reply
  7. Moses

    Thanks Nial for the word of encouragement and advise.
    Keep uon doing the good work.

    Reply
  8. Matt

    2018 hasn’t been easy for me, but i thank God so far, i started trading forex early this year ( January) and i must say that am one of the lucky traders, i made losses and i learnt a lot from them. when i said am lucky, i don’t actually mean that i made money, but i learnt a lot and also am lucky meeting this blog and other interesting price action blogs. and right now with all that i learnt and with the strategy i have develop using pure price action, trend line with support and resistance i think am good to go in the up coming year, provided i follow my trading plan with absolute discipline and patient. THKS NIAL

    Reply
  9. Pier Felice

    Dear Neal, thanks for your useful articles and I wish you a happy 2019.

    Reply
  10. Lucky Mabuza

    Thank you Mr Fuller for the great article.

    Reply
  11. Jane

    Thank you, Nial. Thanks for your advice and your coaching and that awesome course that I took several years ago. Merry Christmas and best for 2019!

    Reply
  12. Margaret Ross

    Thanks Nial for your help , hope you had a Happy Xmas and the New Year will be prosperous for you . Margaret ????

    Reply
  13. Demola

    Thanks for all the efforts. Wishing you prosperous 2019.

    Reply
  14. Sam

    Thanks again Nial,
    Merry Xmas and happy new year,
    God bless you.

    Reply
  15. Serhij

    Dear Nial! Thank you so much for the inspiring articles, for the wonderful lessons. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2019!

    Reply
  16. Tom

    Have enjoyed greatly your lessons and posts this year, Nial. Appreciate your simple and honest approach to explaining how things are and sharing your experiences. Thank you and all the best for 2019.

    Reply
  17. Malvika

    Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year to you Nial! Thank you for all the learnings.

    Reply
  18. Tayo

    Excellent lesson!. Thanks Nial.

    Reply
  19. Marina

    Thanks so much, Nial, for this article and for your consistent help to traders!
    Wish you happy Merry Christmas and a fruitful coming New Year!

    Reply
  20. Fuad

    Perfect story.Thank you

    Reply
  21. Mario Smith

    Thanks Nail very true and make sense this is amazing lesson thanks alot God bless you.

    Reply
  22. Halilu Yahaya

    Apt and educative as usual. I cant thank you enough Sir

    Reply
  23. Indre

    Merry Christmas! ????

    Reply
  24. Siphamandla

    Thank, please share your contact details

    Reply
  25. David

    Thanks Nial, I wish you a happy xmas & a prosperous New Year.

    Reply
  26. MUHAMMAD AMIN MALIK

    Wish you MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR

    Reply
  27. MUHAMMAD AMIN MALIK

    My dear NIAL FULLER ! Thank you for your consistent guidance and for your WEEKLY TRADE IDEAS.
    Wish you Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

    Reply
  28. mehdi

    thank you so much for onther great article.
    happy new year and a more successful year ahead for you too.
    Mehdi

    Reply
  29. Manohar Nadkar

    Hi Nial
    Thank for nice article…
    Manohar Nadkar

    Reply
  30. nazmul hasan

    thank you nial for your valueable article. its very very helpful lesson for every trader.

    Reply
  31. Peter Miller

    Thanks as always, very common sense approach , and the only way to go as laid out so perfectly.
    Happy christmas and happy new year to all traders

    Reply
  32. Frank

    Thank you for your trading wisdom throughout 2018. Looking very much forward to your wonderful trading articles in 2019.
    Please have a lovely festive season with your loved ones.

    Reply
  33. Chiboy

    Thanks Nial for your good call for god plans. I really appreciate whatever I do read here per time; wonderful!. My 2019 shall be better. Merry Christmas…

    Reply
  34. ANDRZEJ KIMSTACZ

    Thank You and Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2019!

    Reply
  35. Andy

    Hey Nial,

    I would like to express my deep appreciation for all your help and support over the past 2 years. I gave myself a Christmas present of your course in December 2016. Most of 2017 was a huge learning curve trying to rid myself of old habits I had acquired since opening a Forex account in 2014. Old habits die hard!

    In January 2018 I made the decision to completely learn your trading strategies, rid myself of destructive trading habits and master the will to get it right. During 2018 until now I feel I’ve made great inroads thanks to your Price Action trading strategies.

    I have accomplished the following:

    spent the whole of January trading 1R:1R – it doubled my account!
    Reduced my trading drastically from many per month to only a few
    controlled the urge to jump in whenever
    waited for PA setups to occur
    set stop losses and targets that are realistic
    realised it doesn’t matter how big or small your account is – using PA correctly actually works!
    become as unemotional as possible – not easy
    traded larger time frames
    I could go on and on…

    Of course I have had some draw downs and setbacks, But working your system has worked so well that it has increased my account from under £100 to nearly 800.

    I would like to wish you a very Happy Christmas – mine will be ;)
    and a huge thank you for what you’ve given us all.

    Happy trading for 2019

    Regards
    Andy Moore

    Reply
  36. Tufajjol Hossain Chowdhury

    Thank you Nial, It’s always a blessing to read thru your blogs, especially the recent on about new year. I feel privileged to have handed every week the trade ideas, it helps me a lot. I wish I will do this every week for me and post it for the form. I need Nial’s help on this issue that how to see all the chart and write the journal for next week. I found most of the study of price movements is accurate and correct.

    Wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New year 2019.

    Reply
  37. 4rjun4

    Thanks you very much nial…

    Reply
  38. Emmanuel

    Thanks, it’s like u are reading my mind about trade

    Reply
  39. Divina

    Thanks Nial for all your lessons. I am already a member and it has been great learning from you. Merry Christmas and a more successful year ahead for you too.

    Reply
  40. Bruce Robertson

    Hi Nial, I always enjoy and learn from all your teachings and really appreciate all the effort you and your team put into it.
    I wish you and your family all the best for Xmas and the new year.

    Best Regards,
    Bruce

    Reply
  41. Akintunde

    Great one, again from the King of price action. Enjoy the festive period. Thanks

    Reply
  42. Arpit Maheshwari

    Thanks for a wonderful lessons.
    My 2019 will be the best.

    Reply
  43. Godfrey Ogbo

    Many thanks! I hope to grow into an austute trader like you. Best of 2019!

    Reply
  44. sunan suksai

    Thank you so much. I will change my trade in 2019.

    Sunan Suksai

    Reply
  45. harbans sandhu

    hi nail,
    thanks for this lesson it make sense what you have said in this lesson. keep sending these.time to time
    harbans

    Reply
  46. Richard

    Thank You Nial,

    Merry ChrIstmas to you and yours.

    Reply
  47. Didi

    Wow…l am impressed of what l learned and have a strong feeling that it will take me far. Thank you so much Mr Fuller.

    I wish all the best for these holidays and beyond

    Reply
  48. Благодарность

    Thanks Mr. Nial for your articles, they very much help me. For me a great honor to be under your flag.

    Reply
  49. Christopher

    i have been following this website for long and i can say it is motivating to read.

    Reply
  50. Robert

    Thanks Nial! Those are all the things I’ve been thinking about for 2019, put in a very nice concise essay. I’m going to print this one out and put it next to my trading desk. Wishing you a happy and prosperous 2019 as well!

    Reply
  51. Uchenna

    Thanks Nail… This my first time of commenting… Only God knows that I remain grateful everyday to you for your lessons… Not only towards my trading but the way I think and the way I now see life has changed since I started following you up ( Dec 2018)… God bless you and your family have a wonderful new year… Thanks…

    Reply
  52. Wayfarer

    Thank You, NiAl! Great lesson. Merry Christmas!

    Reply
  53. Okrude

    I so appreciate you and I personal enjoy your unique combination of words to bring out ideas. Thanks so Nail

    Reply
  54. Yohanes

    I will change ….

    Reply
  55. Mavis

    Thanks thanks Mr Nail what a gift of Christmas to me, always you open my mind.
    Have a wonderful festive season and God embrace you with his favor
    Mavis

    Reply
  56. MARJOHNNY SHAFFLAN MARJOHAN

    Thanks nial

    Reply
  57. JJ Snyman

    Hi Nial

    Thank you so much for another valuable lesson. Once again you hit the nail on the head with it. I have been a member since February 2018 and regard this as one of the better decisions I have made during 2018 pertaining to my trading career. Thank you for you for being my mentor – I have learned so much thus far. I wish you and your loved ones a prosperous 2019 filled with success, love and good health.

    Reply
  58. Alexey

    Thank you, Nial.

    Reply