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Nial Fuller

NIAL FULLER Nial Fuller
Professional Trader, Author & Coach

The 3 Mental Hacks That Will Transform Your Trading

light bulb idea tradingSo, you want to be a successful trader who makes money consistently in the markets? First, ask yourself this: Do you have a successful mind? You simply cannot achieve the former without first developing the latter.  

Before we go any further, I want you to know that this isn’t another boring article about “trader psychology” or beating the dead-horse of “controlling your emotions in the market”. I know you already know the importance of those things, and if you don’t… then go read this article. 

This lesson is about real-world mental thought processes that professional traders use to succeed not just in trading, but in life. I’m going to show you what pro traders think and how they act that allows them to achieve massive success in the markets.  

We are going to go over specific thought processes and mental routines that you need to start practicing and mastering. I’m going to give you some exercises you can start working on today, to get real results. The key for you is going to be, sticking to them, religiously, day in and day out. 

The primary divide between a newbie trader and a professional, is their trading mentality. In fact, the difference between successful people and those still struggling in any field or endeavor, is mentality.  

To put it a bit more succinctly; if you want to fix your trading, you first need to fix your mind.  

Here’s how: 

1. Learn to completely detach yourself from live trades 

Perhaps the single most defining characteristic of a professional trader is the ability to mentally detach from live trades. Beginning and losing traders are not yet able to do this, hence they struggle.  

Your goal is to literally feel nothing after you press that buy or sell button on a live trade. Once you get to this point, you stand a much better chance at making money in the markets because you will largely eliminate emotion-born trading mistakes.  

Once A Trade Is Live, Avoid the Charts 

Professional traders have learned that the easiest way to detach mentally from a live trade is to simply avoid the charts. After you place the trade, simply walk away; turn off your computer and leave it be until tomorrow at least.  

Starring at the charts won’t help; you cannot control the market, you can only control yourself. It’s critical you let the trade play out without your involvement. In order for your trading edge to work, it needs to play out without you meddling with it, over a large sample size of trades.  

Screen Watching Will Ruin You, Second Guessing 

Watching the charts as your trade is live, just for amusement, is stupid. If that sounds harsh, it’s meant to be. There is no bigger trading mistake than watching live trades tick by for no good reason. It’s like being on a diet and purposely driving yourself to McDonald’s every day when you’re hungry and trying not to eat the food. It’s. Not. Going. To. Work.  

You don’t need to feel the ups and downs of the market with a live trade on. You don’t need to and you shouldn’t want to. Save yourself the torture.  

What happens when traders watch the screens all day with live trades? A number of things, but most commonly it results in second-guessing. You will second-guess your trade idea when price starts moving against you a little bit. You will second-guess your profit target as price moves up then pulls back against you a little bit. There are many other scenarios that result from watching charts too much. The bottom line is, if you want to mentally detach, you have to physically detach from the charts. 

Your goal, in order to mentally detach from live trades, is to set the trade up and forget about it, just walk away.

How to do it: 

The way you solve any type of trading problem is by making a conscious effort to change your trading routine and that will lead to new, positive trading habits.  

  • As with anything, simply removing the problem (the charts) can be a massive part of solving the problem. You have a problem with a person? Removing that person from your life usually solves the problem. Don’t communicate with them anymore. You have a problem over trading and making stupid trading mistakes? Remove yourself from the charts when you have a live trade on. 
  • Find a distraction, it can be an activity, a hobby, anything really. Just make it something you do every time you have a live trade on, so that you are building it into your trading routine to ultimately make it a habit. 
  • Another way to mentally detach is to make sure you have no way to access the charts during the day while you’re at work or school or wherever. Delete that trading app from your phone.  
  • Perhaps you could even have someone else manage the trade for you and you give them instructions on what to do and what not to do. The bottom line is that you need to have a plan for how you will purposely remove yourself from the charts after putting a trade on so that you can learn to mentally detach and start trading like a professional trader.

2. Start thinking of trading as a mental ‘war’

protective knight defensive trading

Your competition in the market is fierce. You are competing against players who are better capitalized, better educated and perhaps more intelligent than you.  

However, you have one thing they may not; a sickening desire to be the best and to play the game with more discipline than them, because that is how you will beat them. 

Imagine there’s a gun to your head as you’re trading and each click of the buy or sell button is literally a life or death decision. Sounds extreme maybe, but that is how serious you have to take this if you want to be in the top 10% of traders, you certainly aren’t going to get there by taking it lightly.  

The point here is that you are competing against real people, it’s not just you and a computer screen and the charts, not at all. Trading should be thought of as the ultimate mental sport, a true battle of wits, if you will. You’re in the land of big boys, hedge fund managers, time to get your ‘war paint’ on and stop pretending this is some get rich quick Hollywood movie. 

The opponent is the enemy and you are here to defeat them, you are literally trying to take their money. If you don’t think like this, I promise you won’t take it serious enough to maintain the consistent discipline required to win. 

Don’t come unprepared: 

Whatever you do, don’t show up to the battle unprepared. Many traders open their charts after funding their live accounts and they are literally like a solider showing up to fight a battle with a pocket knife.  

If you don’t want to lose all your money in a week, you need to be 100% prepared for the mental test that is waiting every time you open your laptop and click on that Metatrader platform icon. 

Important note: Whilst we are aiming to be prepared and extremely self-confident in our trading approach, we are not reckless or foolish. Being well prepared and confident is very different from taking stupid risks and being overly aggressive in the market. In fact, part of being prepared is understanding money management and having everything planned out before you push the buy or sell button.  

We are not gambling or playing around, this is serious and we are ready to take on the competition in all areas: Mind, Method and Money management, the 3ms. 

How to do it: 

To master anything in life, you must learn, practice, repeat. Trading is no different. Except that in trading, there are many people online offering education and advice who perhaps aren’t the best to learn from.  

I am probably the most competitive person you will ever met when it comes to trading, business and entrepreneurship. So, when it comes to conveying to you the mindset you need to succeed in the market, I am the man you want. Here are some tips on how to start viewing trading as a competition and how to prepare for it: 

  • View each trade as a negotiation, a deal. It’s a contract of sorts, so take it seriously and make sure you dot all the I’s and cross all the T’s. If you were sitting next to someone in a room and either you lose money or they lose money, you would be much more focused than you are just trading by yourself. Starting thinking of this as a competition where other people are trying to take your money. Do this, and you’ll naturally start focusing more on the important things like money management and being consistent in all aspects of your trading approach. 
  • Train and prepare. Does a boxer just show up to the boxing match without months of preparation and training? No, of course not, and if he did, he would be pummeled. You develop confidence through honing your skills and learning, mastering your craft.  
  • Stay motivated to stay on track. You have to work on this, at least initially. Motivation isn’t something only “lucky people” have. It’s a lifestyle, a mindset that you have to train yourself to achieve through reading and repetition of proper actions.  
  • Understand chart psychology what your opponent is doing and thinking. You can do this by learning to interpret the price action bar by bar, by following the footprint of money. 
  • Get yourself psyched up when you open your charts. You can do this by reading trading affirmations that you like. You can even use music or motivational videos on YouTube for this. I use to listen to Highway to the Danger Zone in my early days, every day before looking at the charts. I still do sometimes. It always gets me psyched for the “danger zone” of the market. 

Bottom line; trading the market is basically a mental war. Think of it as such and treat is as such. If not, you will surely be defeated in battle. 

3. Don’t let money make you ‘funny’.

Money screws with peoples’ minds. Whether you’re making it or losing it, there will probably be some psychological side effects that come with it. Professional traders know that to make money consistently they have to fix this problem. You want to fix your trading? You have to fix your money mindset. 

The primary mental hurdles that face traders in regards to their money, are the following: 

  • Fear of loss, fear of missing out. Fear of loss causes traders to let small losses turn into big ones, because they are simply afraid of taking any loss. Fear of loss also can cause traders to be afraid to trade, letting good trades pass because they’re too afraid of a potential loss. Fear of missing out generally means you are chasing trades that you missed for one reason or another. You get mad at yourself and you start getting afraid of missing out on the profits, so you jump in at a terrible entry point, typically this results in a loss. 
  • Risking too much per trade and all the problems that come as a result. I’ve written myriad articles on this. 
  • Not knowing where to exit the market or how to exit. Self-explanatory, see solution below. 
  • Generally speaking, having no capital preservation plan is the reason most traders fail and it’s the reason they let the money make them ‘funny’. Your money management plan IS the most important part of your entire trading approach, don’t think you can skip this part. 

Here’s how to do it: 

The only way to overcome money management problems is to predefined, preplan and just be prepared for losing before you enter a trade. Remember, any trade can lose, there’s a random distribution of wins and losses for any given trading edge. So, go into every trade understanding and accepting that it could be a loss.  

  • A capital management plan is the only way to train yourself out of any bad habits in regards to risk management, risk reward and so on. Your capital preservation and risk management approach are your life-line in the market, it’s your oxygen. Without it, you will quickly suffocate.  
  • You need an exit plan for stops and targets, etc. Don’t just ‘wing it’ on every trade. Plan out where you will exit for a target and a stop loss BEFORE you push the buy or sell button. 
  • No matter how small your account is, treat it with the same respect and approach you would if it was a $1 million account or even $1 billion. Same principles apply. 
  • Electronic digits on a computer screen can seem fake, cold, not real. To counter this, get some monopoly money or casino chips and get two jars. Each time you win put some in the winning jar, each time you lose put some in the losing jar. It will make the money seem more real to you as you touch it. I even suggest withdrawing profits from your account regularly and taking them out of your bank and touching the actual money.  
  • Can you sleep at night with the money you have at risk? Ask yourself, how do I feel going to bed, can I live with this amount? If you can’t fall asleep because you’re thinking about the money you have at risk, it’s time to lower your risk amount. 
  • You need to remain disciplined and consistent. If you stay disciplined with your money management approach for a year and then you go full-tilt and gamble it all on one trade like an idiot, not only will you risk losing all that money, but all the work you spent staying disciplined will be for nothing. You owe it to yourself to stay CONSISTENTLY DISCIPLINED. It’s the only way to make money OVER TIME. Never deviate. 
  • Make this stuff into mantras that you repeat to yourself daily. Believe in it, own it like a seasoned pro. Do this if you want to join the big boys. 

 Conclusion 

The core foundation of all great business people including traders, investors, etc. is their mindset. The foundation upon which their success is built, is the ability to handle pressure and temptation whilst remaining consistently disciplined. The ability to stick to a plan and remain almost emotionless whilst carrying out their chosen profession, be it trading, managing a company or even being an entrepreneur, is what puts someone in the top 10% of their field.  

I have spent well over 15 years practicing what I preach. I am a living, breathing testament to what we discussed in today’s lesson. I do more than just help traders with entry strategies and price action techniques in my courses, because there are other things in trading that are just as important, if not more.  

When I started trading, about 16 years ago, nobody was around to teach me or explain to me the seriousness of the three points discussed in this lesson, or the many other ones we didn’t even touch on today. This is the main reason that I combine my price action analysis trading strategy with a solid mental and capital management plan to help traders achieve long-term success. It’s my hope that with ongoing study, you can master these disciplines to improve your trading, state of mind and ultimately, grow your trading account.

What did you think of this lesson? Please leave your comments & feedback below!    

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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. jessica smith

    yes you said very well, The core foundation of all great business people including traders, investors, etc. is their mindset. The foundation upon which their success is built, is the ability to handle pressure and temptation whilst remaining consistently disciplined.

    Reply
  2. MUNGE GATHURI

    Bottom line; trading the market is basically a mental war. Think of it as such and treat is as such. If not, you will surely be defeated in battle.

    Reply
  3. MUNGE GATHURI

    Hello Nial have no words for thanking you,you always have the best information for newbies and old timers for free thank you .

    Reply
  4. R .Bose

    Excellent article for not only traders but for everyone.
    Lots of things to keep in mind and practice,for good results. But second point seems contradictory to the other two points .1st and 3 rd.
    You tell not look at charts once the trade is on, on the other hand you say to be disciplined with it.

    Reply
  5. Keira

    I can see that I’m doing better by following your guides, now I’m trying to use the live chart and starting to utilize it, thanks again.

    Reply
  6. Благодарность

    Mr. Nial! article bomb, thank you very much, super!

    Reply
  7. Francis

    Enlightening! The basic tenets presented are understandable and coherently practical. Words and phrases convey the emotions and strength of the one explaining to the novice the clarity of path to mastery.

    I am new to trading. But the inspiration of highlighting the objectiveness of handling money vs mentally being instantaneously affected as the trend deviates from expectation is worth noting. I believe it is justifiable to rate that one is a seasoned trader when the laptop is closed and that certain person is happily enjoying life for today. Just for today, let tomorrow worries itself…

    Reply
  8. seyed mehdi

    Well, as always

    Reply
  9. Andrzej

    As strong as pepper…But brilliant.

    Reply
  10. Viky s

    This is wonderfull article…thanks you nial

    Reply
  11. Catherine

    What a wonderful lesson. Thankyou nial

    Reply
  12. ALONSO E MARTINEZ

    grasias por aportar tan balioso principio thank you

    Reply
  13. Girish

    Nial, what a brilliant article highlighting the absolute must have mental attitude and principles to develop in order to be a consistent successful trader. Thank you Nial.

    Reply
  14. mutiu

    Great lecture. Thank you

    Reply
  15. John Secker

    Hi Nial
    Well that lesson was true dedication just fantastic.
    Thank you JS.

    Reply
  16. Thandi

    Thank you Nial for such a great article, I always learn a lot from your articles,you are the best .God bless you

    Reply
  17. Rahmath

    Great article Nial. Thank you.

    Reply
  18. Pete Johnson

    Good stuff Neil, Thank you for keeping us focused on what is really important.

    Reply
  19. Hettie

    Hi Nial. last year i made $20. this year i’m standing on $190, just by following your advice. Thanks
    Hettie

    Reply
  20. Isaac

    Thanks Nial, helpful content

    Reply
  21. EDISON PENA

    Hi Nial. Your experience help us to improve our performance. Thanks a lot. Your notes are the core of the trading activity.

    Reply
  22. Muna

    C’est encore lui – le Maestro. Que celui qui peut dire mieux leve sa main. [It’s him again – the Maestro. I challenge anyone who can say it better to raise his/her hand].

    Thank you my Maestro.

    Reply
  23. Ralph Spangenberg

    Thank you, your focus on the competition is spot on.

    Ralph Spangenberg

    Reply
  24. Lepota

    This our kind of article help us to improve our trading on daily basis.

    Reply
  25. K N Venkataramanan

    A very good article.

    Reply
  26. Mari

    . It’s like being on a diet and purposely driving yourself to McDonald’s every day when you’re hungry and trying not to eat the food. It’s. Not. Going. To. Work.  

    Looooool loved this ????. Very true! Thanks Nial.

    Reply
  27. Richard

    As always a good article and timely reminder on how we should think and trade. Thank you for your ongoing support and advice written in an easy to understand style. Often difficult to follow your advice because of my personality and impatience but your advice always makes good sense.

    Reply
  28. Hasli

    Mr. Nial thank you for sharing to keep us improved and be educated in trading world.

    Reply
  29. MuhdRaiyan

    Thanks Nail, great lesson from you again..and it’s always.

    Reply
  30. Dennis Cherry

    Thanks Nial,
    Yes I’m too casual, not serious enough.
    Nial if you come across a really good signal like a pin bar on a day chart. How long does that pin bars
    influence last?
    Regards, Dennis Cherry.

    Reply
  31. lempiang

    superb

    Reply
  32. Ala

    It’s too hard for me for not watching the live trade chart , unless that trade I just put 0.01 lot with at least $1000 USD in MT4 account , stop loss has been nicely preset .. other than this , I find no way out for escaping waiting and watching chart , thanks for advice

    Reply
  33. Guiton

    Hi Nial,
    I took your course about 4 years ago and have been slowly making my way into the market.
    It has been 4 years of an unbelievable mixture of emotions, wins and losses and mostly losses for the first 2-3 years but, I am determined to become a professional trader and I will be.
    I have only just had the last few months of more wins than losses so there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
    The most important thing that I have learned is to pay heed to and listen to your lessons and advice, many times when I did not, I have failed, sometimes not but mostly.
    Some of your lessons are really hard to follow in real life with real money, like “set and forget” a trade and see a loss from a trade that was perfectly set up, got really close to a good profit (maybe R1.5 and not R2), not jumping out when the market hesitated and then accepting the loss.
    However, I will persevere and one day I will owe my success to your teaching and my adherence to your lessons.
    Thank you Nial,
    Guiton

    Reply
  34. Mai

    Hi

    I am from Vietnam, a newbie. I have read same info before but you wrote very details and given me many great guidelines in trading. I read this article again and again and also shared some info to my friends who re newbie in this business too. We all made many mistakes at first trading and re on the way to select the most comfortable trading method. We found price action is the best for us.

    Many thanks to you, Nial.

    Mai

    Reply
  35. Colin

    Thanks for the lesson, I like the power of treating each trade like a negotiation or contract. for me that is a great new approach to take each trade seriously and carefully.

    Reply
  36. JUDE

    Great article always. I raised my 5000 cent account into 9000 plus in one month and loss it all because of 3 trades that went from smaller losses to bigger losses because of ”fear of loss”. you made a practical article for. my experiences always match with your write ups. being blessed.

    Reply
  37. Rick

    Absolutely loved it as always….

    Reply
  38. Idongi

    Thanks for the info, i always reading your post cos it always informative

    Reply
  39. gennadii

    You have taught one more professional lesson about the market. Thank you teacher .

    Reply
  40. Peter Ignatius

    This is very informative, Sometimes, I let few winning streak get into my head, then I suddenly forget money mgt & risk more than I should which result in loss most of the time… I will truly take note of this principle… Thanks for your selfless help to the trading community.. You are simply the best..YES YOU ARE!

    Reply
  41. Magdalena Suchodolska

    Funny thing is that just today I told a friend of mine ‘ you know, it’s like on the road. You must be focused all the time otherwise you might die. And you tell me that it’s like with a gun against your head. I love the article. Yes, it’s a fight but so fascinating!

    Reply
  42. Helen

    I have never thought of deleting the app until you have mentioned it! I think deleting the app is a way forward for me, I will do far much
    Better without the app
    Thank you for such a brilliant idea
    Thanks again

    Reply
  43. Gab

    Wow! ????????????

    Reply
  44. Oladosu Olusola

    Nial, what you handed down here are real pragmatic principles. The reality of trading jump into my face alive when i watched the teams play the 2018 world cup. I realized that’s what we do in trading and unless you come prepared, you gonna loose your money to the war lords.

    Reply
  45. MANOHAR

    HI NIAL,
    VERY IMPRESSIVE AND USEFUL ARTICLE…KEEP CONTINUE WRITING SO ITS HELP NEW TRADERS.
    THANKS A LOT. GOD BLESS U AND ME ALSO FOR DISCIPLINE TRADING.
    MANOHAR

    Reply
  46. Robert Schraitle

    This topic really hits home to me. Constantly watching charts is my weak spot. I really need to work on this.

    Reply
  47. Rodney

    I have studied many many forex ‘gurus’; over the 6 years I have been trading. They don’t come close to the depth of mental analysis that Nial goes. I owe my emotional calmness to Nail; and its by far the most important. Thank Nial.

    Reply
  48. FLORENCE WANYOIKE

    Quite an informative lesson. Thank you Nial.

    Reply
  49. Veera Ram

    Thank you very much for sharing valuable knowledge.

    Reply
  50. tom

    As always, your articles really hit home with me, Nial. Appreciate you writing and posting them.

    Reply
  51. Jolene

    Really great article as always

    Reply
  52. Kwanele

    This has been such an eye opener???????? Thank u so much for this????

    Reply
  53. Enoch Ofori

    The ability to stick to a plan whiles remaining almost emotionless……………This is the great secret for succeeding in any venture.

    Thank you Nial.

    Reply
  54. Richard

    Nial,
    Thank you again, I have never read an article from you that wasn’t clear and to the point,
    no sugar added, no BS.

    Richard

    Reply
  55. fawaz bamakrait

    I REALLY LIKE WHATEVER YOU PUBLISHED MY FRIEND ,BECAUSE YOU MAKE IT SO UNDERSTANDABLE .

    Reply
  56. Loke Jun Mun

    Nial always come out infront of me in the best and important timing. Thanks

    Reply
  57. Andile Sikrweqe

    Very good lessons Sir am gonna keep these lessons in my mind all times,thank you sir for your support.

    Reply
  58. Samuel Muchangi Mugo

    The article is very informative, thank you

    Reply
  59. Lakera

    You type a whooooole lot… can I suggest having smaller lessons? I find myself drifting off asleep but quickly catch on and continue reading (and finishing Ofcourse!). But nonetheless I truly value your content. It’s amazing stuff. Thank you — this is my go to site, sir.

    Reply
  60. Anthony Baker

    A very good article Nial

    Reply
  61. Rahwa

    I wonder how you can write like this article every 10 days. you are fantastic Nial. May God bless you, and your family.

    Reply