Although it sounds silly, the fear of success is as real as the fear of failure for some Forex traders.
In fact, I would argue that it is more harmful than the latter because it is rooted in the subconscious.
Everyone says they want to be successful, but some people fear the changes that success may bring.
The idea is not as ridiculous as it seems if you really think about it.
With success comes higher expectations. Take, for example, an athlete who runs one mile in less than six minutes. The athlete will likely raise the bar high in his next outing and try to surpass his performance.
This increases the pressure on him to perform better than last time. For some people, this is enough to stop them from trying.
The athlete may fear that if he tries again, he will fail and begin to think that the first time might have been a fluke, so he prefers to sit on the sidelines.
These cases are not rare. After all, most of us grew up being told that we need to give it our all, avoid losing, and always strive to be winners.
This pressure to succeed makes trading more difficult because even though you do your best, you can never completely avoid losses and you can never win all of your trades.
I guess you could say that the fear of success is rooted in the worry of being on the wrong side of the trade.
I often hear stories about Forex traders who miss the opportunity to pull the trigger on a setup they are familiar with because they think their analysis might be wrong. A few hours later, they blame themselves for not making trades that could have been profitable.
So what can we do to overcome the fear of success and prevent ourselves from sabotaging our progress? Here are three simple tips:
1. Focus on the process rather than the profits
The problem with many traders is that they focus too much on the financial results of their trades.
Once they experience a series of losses, their confidence is shattered and this negatively affects the way they trade.
Sometimes, this leads to cowboys taking trades (e.g., “farm type betting” trades) or refraining from taking forex setups they would normally take.
The solution to this is to keep potential profits (or losses) out of your mind and make sure you follow your trading plans.
By doing this, not only will the pressure to perform ease, but you will learn what can be improved through your forex trading plan and methods, improving your chances of long-term success.
2. Keep an open mind
Always keep in mind that market behavior is always changing, which means you will have to adjust your trading as well.
Don’t be afraid to feel like a beginner and accept the fact that there will be plenty of cases where the Forex market will prove you wrong. If you stubbornly cling to your blockbuster style system in an uneven market just to prove that your system works, you will get burned badly.
Learn how to let go of your need to “always be right.” This will relieve you of the pressure of constant success and free your mind to focus on what is happening in the markets and adapt accordingly.
3. Set realistic goals
Goals not only represent your expectations but also help bridge the gap between your aspirations and reality.
If you set unrealistic expectations – such as winning every trade, for example – you may be setting yourself up for a great deal of disappointment. This may turn into a negative mental state and affect your decision-making abilities.
By setting goals, you can begin to discern how far you are from achieving them. The question is, are you willing to do whatever it takes to reach those Forex goals? If not, it may be best to adjust your expectations.
At the same time, don’t sell yourself short! The best traders don’t think about failure – they set challenging but achievable goals, knowing that this will serve as an incentive for them to keep moving forward.
In the end, it will all depend on how confident you are.
Successful traders are the ones who make plans and stick to them! They know why they are trading, and they use that to fuel their motivation, and help themselves rise above all the challenges they may face.
Successful Forex traders don’t back down from success, they plan for it and embrace it.