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Nial Fuller

NIAL FULLER Nial Fuller
Professional Trader, Author & Coach

How To Develop A Winning Trader’s Mindset

mindset traderAre you ready to stop toying around and start making a serious attempt at trading profitably? If you want to trade with the big boys you will have to act like a big boy and stop behaving like a child in the market. That’s right, today’s lesson is a no-holds-barred in-your-face mother-load of brutal honesty that only yours truly would dare serve up, and I’m serving it up ice cold with zero apologies, because you NEED to hear this if you want to WIN!

It’s time to get your sh!t together if you want to compete with the big boys of the trading world. There is absolutely no other route to trading success other than taking a cold hard look at yourself in the mirror and deciding if your current trading behavior and mental processes are pushing you in the right or wrong direction.

I’m not saying you have to be Superman, you’re only human, but to make it as a trader you ARE going to HAVE TO step things up a notch by thinking and operating in a more efficient, pro-success manner. Clearly, what you have been doing has probably not been working or you wouldn’t be reading this article most likely. So, if you continue to do the same things and are just too lazy to figure out the problem and fix it, you have only yourself to blame for your failures (in trading or other areas of life as well).

Mental Fortitude

Mental fortitude is defined as the ability to focus on and execute solutions when in the face of uncertainty or adversity. Ask yourself this, in what other field is there as much uncertainty or adversity than in trading? Hard to think of any besides being in an active combat zone in a war.

If you hope to make money as a trader on a regular basis, you have to have the mental fortitude of an Oak tree; unwavering discipline in the face of the near constant temptation and uncertainty that IS the market.

  • Emotional discipline – If you want to succeed at trading you have to be emotionally disciplined. What this means is, you cannot chase every single ‘rabbit’ you see. You have to wait, wait and wait some more for the slow, weak, easy trading prey. This is called conserving your limited risk capital for the high-quality trade setups. What does it take to be emotionally disciplined? Mental fortitude. You must have the ability to focus on and execute your trading plan with MILITARY PRECISION even in the face of constant temptation.
  • Survival of the fittest? – Is trading only for the genetically gifted in discipline and mental fortitude? Whilst some people may have an easier time with this than others, I truly believe anyone, if they want it enough, can develop the mental tools needed to become a consistently profitable trader. To read more about becoming a consistent trader, check out my article on consistency in trading.
  • Money discipline – Not only do you need to be disciplined with your trading plan and trading strategy, you MUST be disciplined when it comes to money management and this means discipline in both risk and reward. To understand how to be disciplined in managing risk, check out this article on how to trade with discipline. For more info on managing rewards and profit targets, check out this lesson on the psychology of taking profits.

State of Mind

trader thinking

Your state of mind, even when you are not in front of the charts or thinking about the markets, plays an absolutely critical role in your ability to successfully trade the markets.

  • Self control – Similar to what we discussed above about discipline, but what I’m talking about here is more of a general sense of self-control. Typically, people who have high levels of self-control in other areas of their lives, make good traders. If you are someone who is very disorganized, physically very out of shape or otherwise lacking in major forms of self-control, you will need to fix this if you want to make money trading. It’s very difficult to ONLY be a highly controlled person in trading if you aren’t controlled in other areas as well.
  • Self-confidence – Anyone who knows me personally knows I am a VERY confident person. You have to be this way to make money as a trader. There is no room for self-doubt and hesitation in the markets. To learn more about this, read about the role that confidence plays in trading. You must act like you’re already a winner and think and behave like a hedge fund trader even though you’re not yet there. This is the only way to ever get there!
  • Be counter-intuitive – You have to train yourself to be someone who thinks counter-intuitively. What that means is, basically you have to think different from the masses of traders who fail, from the “herd” of sheep, so to speak. When a market looks like it wants to breakout, it’s likely to be a false breakout, but most traders get sucked into the first breakout they see, only to get stopped out as the false break materializes. This is just one of many, many examples where a market looks and even ‘feels’ like it’s going one way, and just when everyone is onboard it reverses sharply the other direction. I’m not saying you will always avoid losing trades, not by a long shot. I’m saying you should be patient, have a trading plan, don’t jump the gun.

Belief Systems

I believe that trading should be viewed and treated as a business. Your trading plan should also be your business strategy in the markets. It should include things like, the overall style you’re trading, examples of ideal setups, risk management plans, stop loss placement strategies, profit target placement strategies, daily trading affirmations and more.

Any business has a plan and systems in place. You should do the same with your trading. If you don’t have a plan then you’re really just gambling.

  • Reinforcement – Whatever your trading strategy is, you need to reinforce it on a regular basis so that it becomes part of a winning traders mindset. My personal trading strategy and the one I teach to my students is essentially a “less is more” approach, or K.I.S.S. (keep it simple stupid). I focus on higher time frame charts and I BELIEVE in the edge that my select price action signals provide for me. This is all built into my trading plan and I go over it daily to reinforce it into my psyche.
  • Self-belief / confidence – You must truly believe in yourself and in your ability and in your trading strategy. As I said earlier, there is no room for hesitation if you want to succeed long-term in the market. That said, do not get overly confident, as too much confidence in a trader is just as bad or worse than too little.

Structured Daily Trading Routine

What does your daily trading routine consist of currently? Do you even have one? If you aren’t sure, then you don’t. You should be able to easily tell someone else what your daily trading routine looks like and you should have designated times for analyzing the markets each day.

  • Routine lead to habits – The value and power of a structured daily trading routine cannot be emphasized enough. Repetition of the brain ‘muscle’ by way of routines is how you form habits and habits either make you or break you, depending on what type they are. Read more about routines in my article on the the power of trading routines.
  • Daily routines of winners – Winning traders think differently from you. They act differently from you. Their days are more planned and structured than yours. It is just a fact that the more organized and focused you are, the more successful you’ll be, at anything. Winning traders are not easily distracted from their end game, from the long-term prize. They have long-term and short-term goals and they write them all out, the short-term goals build up and lead to the long-term goals. These things are what winning traders think about everyday. They aren’t wasting tons of time on T.V. or out with friends. They are busy learning, staying fit, staying focused and following their trading plan with discipline.

Accountability and enjoying the fruits of trading

trader working laptopOne of the key components to developing a winning trader’s mindset is keeping yourself accountable. There are no “bosses” for a trader, other than yourself and your family (if you let them know what you’re doing with the trading money lol). Hence, you MUST be accountable to something, that something is your trading plan and your trading routine (mentioned previously).

  • Trading plan – Once again, you need a trading plan, a tangible one, not one that’s all mental. Print or write it out, tweak it as needed, just make sure you review it weekly at least, daily at best. This is one way you stay accountable and staying accountable helps you maintain discipline and maintaining discipline helps you forge positive trading habits and positive trading habits make you money consistently.
  • Trading journal – Along with your trading plan, you need a trading journal in which you log your trades and the details of them. This is essentially where you will write a daily market commentary, similar to what I provide my members each day. You can do this on your computer or write it out, just make sure you do it. This will help you stay accountable.
  • Enjoy your life, NOW – Don’t wait for the trading profits to start rolling in to begin enjoying the low-frequency, end of day trading style that you will learn on my site and in my courses. Instead, start implementing this approach now and start enjoying its fruits. Trade and think less about your trades and you will end up making more money in the long-run, this is a core tenet of my trading philosophy. Trading in this manner allows you to take a set and forget approach where everything is slowed down and you have time to live your life and fit trading in around your busy schedule.
  • Real goals – You need to make each point in the above lesson small goals that you work on one by one. The bigger, end goal of “trading success” is attained by breaking it down into many smaller goals that are more easily attainable on a weekly and daily basis. Trading success is like a puzzle and you will not complete the puzzle until you have each piece mastered and in its rightful place.

Going Forward

If you put two traders side by side, trader A has a million dollar account and a huge multi-monitor setup, access to the best data, etc. and trader B has a simple laptop and just $1,000 but is armed with a winning mindset, I would put my money on trader B Every. Single. Time.

It’s often been said that trading is 80% mental and 20% technical. I teach both the technical and mental aspects in my trading course and members area but by and large the mental aspects are more difficult to master, this is why I write articles like this one. It’s not enough to just learn a trading strategy and fund an account, you have to ACTIVELY make an ongoing effort to not just attain but MAINTAIN the proper trading mindset. One simple and easy thing you can do to start priming your brain for how it needs to work to win in the market, is getting organized. Get more organized in your house, in your job, heck, organize your car. You need to generally be an all around better person if you want to make money trading. A better version of yourself, I should say, and don’t you want to be that anyways?

So, I say to you, are you ready? Are you ready to become a better, stronger and more efficient and successful version of yourself? Only you can decide. If your answer is yes, then you better get ready to make some meaningful changes because nothing different is going to happen without change.

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.
Nial Fuller Professional Trading Course Preferred broker 2020 v1

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  1. vivek

    so helfful article

    Reply
  2. MUNGE GATHURI

    Trading success is like a puzzle and you will not complete the puzzle until you have each piece mastered and in its rightful place.
    1.) Emotional discipline.
    2.) Money discipline.
    3.) Mental Fortitude.
    and one million time check your emotions always Fuller a great teacher you are.

    Reply
  3. cashbox

    thank you Nial,great excellent article

    Reply
  4. Raphael Arrey

    Thank you for investing in millions of people. You have done your part is left to us to decide the kind of traders we want to become.

    Reply
  5. mohamadreza of iran

    you are really the best one that i have seen

    Reply
  6. LEO NWOGU

    You made it so very clear. Trading is war! Focus,Disciplne, Strategy, Consistent application of strategy, Management of human and materials to ensure the long haul. Above all, patience in the face of overwhelming desire to go in.

    Thank you, for your time and devotion to helping others.

    Reply
  7. Amos Nsobila

    Mr. Nial I sincerely want to thank you a lot for this article it will help me a lot in my trading journey

    Reply
  8. Liston Kiwa

    I have to be more organised if I have to succeed. Thanx for the lesson. Even my car has to be organised

    Reply
  9. Благодарность

    Mr. Nial article very good, strongly matevirut, after your articles there is a wish to move only in before, breaking a vseba bad emotions, thanks for your works

    Reply
  10. Hilda

    Thank you the reinforcing the need for an all round balanced life if I’m to succeed in trading. I have struggled with discpline to just follow through set targets and consistency and this has been my biggest setback in trading too. I have any strategy and plan clearly laid out and it works but lack of discpline has consistently swept away all the profit.

    Reply
  11. K. Logeswaran

    Really useful information.. Trading is 80% mental and 20% technical.. K.I.S.S. Thank you

    Reply
  12. Kei

    Thank you so much, Nial! ????

    Reply
  13. Roger Casabuena

    It is you sir that I need in this trading journey. Godbless you more and keepsafe always.

    Reply
  14. Thobe

    This article is just speaking to me directly.What else can we ask for.Thank u coach.I am following in your footsteps.

    Reply
  15. Nweke Michael

    This is really helpful, thanks a lot more sir

    Reply
  16. Geoff Taylor

    Nial, you are the God of trading sense! Bless you Sir, for helping all of us useless hope-to-be’s! We too will be great like you one day if we adhere to your teachings. I am your decipal, more than the others who are writing daft comments like this. Enjoy!
    PS Don’t strike me off, Nial, I was just having a bit of fun! I do really take in your articles, and appreciate the time you put into them.
    Cheers Mate (not Sir)

    Reply
  17. Elijah Babaniyi

    Thank you Sir

    Reply
  18. SHARAD JOSHI

    Great lesson!

    Reply
  19. kada

    Great article Nial ..

    Reply
  20. MEHDI

    Hi Nial
    i can not say which of yours articles is most important. not at all. all of them are most important.
    this is a truth that :”trading is 80% mental and 20% technical” you mentioned it in a right way .and you show us once again how could be possible to be successful in trading and life and that solution is ” getting organized”
    please let us know how could i ( we ) attain or achieve to this organize ? what are the detail of getting and becoming organized one? what is difference between disciplined and organized?
    thanks

    Reply
  21. Akeel

    Hi Nail

    Another interesting and enjoyable knowledge reading presented for keeps.
    Thank you

    Akeel

    Reply
  22. florencie

    Thank yuo Nial,for the great ideas and lessons you give

    Reply
  23. Enéias Nascimento

    Exclent Nial. I really appreciate. Keep writing that kind of article. God bless you.

    Reply
  24. MOINUL ISLAM

    I do follow all your articles so far and I expect that some day you will write on ” how to join and win a contest” or something like that.

    Moin

    Reply
  25. uhweeka ika

    Very informative post. Thank you and keep up the good work.

    Reply
  26. Grace

    Thank you for the lesson. I really needed it.

    Reply
  27. Ekwukoma Precious

    I haven’t started trading already,but I think I’m been well prepared by you sir.

    Reply
  28. Singh

    Thanks Nial, great work. I always look forward to your post, help me to be on track (not derail) and consistently make money.

    Appreciated.

    Reply
  29. Min

    Love your articles. Every time I do one of the silly things you teach not to do, I lose money.

    Reply
  30. Adesoji

    Good one sir,really appreciate .

    Reply
  31. Arek

    SIR! YES SIR!

    Reply
  32. Sam

    I love calling you MasterNial!
    Master Nial, this exactly what i needed because this week I decided my trading strategy getting out of the routine, and to be frank I have seen the results already ( bigger results)
    Thanks Nial.

    Reply
  33. Clay

    Sickening Patience…….

    Reply
  34. narong paveenvejvasu

    Nial, your lesson is so clear and prompt for anyone that follow will success. Thank you for your excellent
    lesson.

    Reply
  35. cletus barry

    Thank you Nial, these reminders keep us on track.

    Reply
  36. Gandus

    Cool article, I love it. be blessed Nail.

    Reply
  37. Ashley

    By far one of the greatest articles I’ve read to date. Your content is golden and continues to help others improve their trading lives and life in general, including me! Thanks Nial!

    Reply
  38. Maxwell Mhaka

    Thanks Nial, everything begins in the mind. I must reform the mind first.

    Reply
  39. harbans sandhu

    this lesson make sense to me I had these ideas in my head by reading your lesson confirm me and make think hard stay with plan thanks again

    Reply
  40. Shelika Naidoo

    Excellent advise thank you

    Reply
  41. Prebi

    About what I need right now. Many thanks!

    Reply
  42. stuart aitken

    You could not have made the winning process any clearer if you had tried. I just wonder how many have the mental capacity to understand your message. Excellent as per usual.

    Reply
  43. Elois

    So much appreciation for this post. Thank you

    Reply
  44. DERRICK

    indeed this has been an a wakening ad a wonderful article of all time . i see my self becoming a strong, efficient and a successful version of my self

    Reply
  45. Pathan Muhammad Sahjahan

    This is a great lesson ever I read. Thanks a lot.

    Reply
  46. Jen

    Nial this article touches every nerve! But then so do so many of your articles! If this one doesn’t do it for me nothing will!! You’re the best thank you. And thank you for trying to put us (me) on the right track of what is a very hard road, if you do not put into practise the advice given in this ‘no nonsense article. I can do this ….with you on my (our) side there’s no excuse. Thank you again -:))

    Reply
  47. paul

    Thanks nail, am learning slot from your trading nuggets

    Reply
  48. Anastasis

    Hi Nial, your advice’s are excellent and hoping to stick to them in order to succeed in trading

    Reply
  49. Harpreet Hundal

    Thanks Nial really a knowledable article

    Reply
  50. Lancelot Dunbar

    You are a great motivator Nial and I will get there eventually.

    Reply
  51. Lucky

    Thanks alot Sir Nail you nailed it again as usual ☺ this article is da number 1 out of all
    Master piece ????????????

    Reply
  52. Wojciech

    A good one!
    thx Nial

    Reply
  53. KRISTOFA OKENTA

    Thank You For This Open Secret and Truth.

    Reply
  54. Mathew

    Wow, Thank you Nial. actually I see a way opened up to my journey of marketing through your programs. Thanks alot

    Reply
  55. Ernie

    You might be one of the few people who have common trading sense. Tx

    Reply
  56. Nalubwama prossy

    THANKS Nial FULLER,Really the information above helps

    Reply
  57. Celo

    I don’t have many words to say then to say THANK YOU.

    Reply
  58. Karen

    Hi Niall, I am 11 months into my first year of my four year trading plan. I have achieved 62.6% of my trading bank (better than the bank) Once I have achieved 100% I will double my trading lots. This has all been done using your system. It works. Thank you.

    Reply
  59. Temi

    Thanks Nial

    Reply
  60. Anthony Baker

    An excellent article
    It came at the right time
    Thanks Nial

    Reply