One of the best ways to overcome the long learning curve and shorten the path to proficiency—and ultimately skill mastery—is to have a mentor or coach to guide the way.
But unless you are among the few who have worked their way into a hedge fund, private trading firm, or institutional trading team, your access to an experienced and willing coach may be little to none.
And yes, there are knowledgeable and talented individuals all over the internet (including our awesome site). Forex Forum) who enjoy sharing what they do and like to give general advice, but most of these people don't have the time or ability to do the things a coach does:
- Records and analyzes your efforts and results
- Observes and identifies any psychological barriers
- Describe ways to improve your trading processes or techniques
- Motivates you when you need it
Fortunately, there is an alternative that can be effective and won't cost you anything: self-training!
Self-training It involves doing all of the above tasks yourself, which may not make sense for some.
How can you (whether you are a beginner or inexperienced Forex user) train yourself to perform better?
Well, here's the first thing you need to know:
A coach is not necessarily a teacher.
While the two roles can be mixed and a coach can teach, the main job of a coach is to lead, monitor, redirect and motivate that individual or team to do the right things to achieve the goal.
Before a person can become trainable, he must have the basic skills for his chosen profession.
A master sushi chef does not tell his apprentice, “This is how you cook rice” every time the apprentice needs to do so.
The trainee is demonstrated once or twice (or perhaps already knows the skill) and then sent to do it. The master chef will check the trainee's work and then provide guidance on how to do it better next time.
In the world of Forex trading, you must have all the basic knowledge and trading skills (e.g., understanding market behavior, entry/exit frameworks, trade/risk management, position sizing, etc.) before you start trading and get training.
Remember, no coach wants to waste his time with someone who is not serious.
The great thing is that forex trading concepts and techniques are mostly easy to understand and can be found for free in our Pipsology school or learned from people willing to participate online.
Once you get past the initial learning phase and choose a basic trading framework that you feel suits you, self-training (i.e. the real work of a trader) actually begins.
The self-training process is very simple and requires a minimum of only three things:
- forex trading magazine,
- Lots of self-reflection and honesty towards yourself, and
- Write everything down.
The ability to take a screenshot of charts and markup will make the process more efficient.
If you have a keen eye for detail and are good with words, it is possible to work your way to the developing stage of proficiency by diligently keeping a simple written journal.
The basic self-coaching process is the same as what a coach does:
1. Monitor and record everything.
Write down your efforts, plans, and any mistakes and observations about yourself and market behavior that need to be addressed.
Remember that what cannot be measured cannot be managed or improved.
2. Review your notes.
With the strong fundamental knowledge and skills you have already acquired in Forex trading, review your feedback and identify how you can make better decisions or improve your trading process.
Again, the trading concepts are very simple and only require common sense to improve them and avoid mistakes. But you have to ask a lot of questions. Don't just look at a winning trade and think, “I should have had a bigger gain.”
Ask questions so you can improve. Was my goal appropriate? Should I have added to my position in this environment? Was my entry the best in this particular case?
If you really need help, show your journal to others to get their feedback.
3. Create guidelines.
Create guidelines so you can avoid bad trading habits. Also remember to practice good trading habits for future trading sessions.
With time and practice, this can be internalized, but you should make it a habit to review it regularly.
Write down why you got into trading and/or your life goals. Review every day to keep you motivated. You will need to do this because there will be days (quite many in the beginning) when trading will not be fun (read: profitable).
4. Rinse, repeat, and stay focused.
That's it, Forex people. It's simple, but it's not easy because obviously this is going to take a lot of work. Many of the questions you ask yourself to improve will take time, and perhaps some experimentation, before you find the right answer that works for you.
And don't think that this process only applies to discretionary, chart or mechanical traders. Bots must be monitored and optimized as well, and as with any other tool, they must be applied to the situation for which they were designed.
Keep in mind that there is no guarantee of success in anything we do, even when years of hard work are applied. This is especially true in the world of trading and investing because it will always be a game of probabilities.
But the one thing I can say is that without a process of deliberate practice and reflection such as self-coaching, your likelihood of success in this business is greatly reduced; Maybe even zero.
So, don't just look at the charts, aimlessly buy or sell, have a good time, and then have a drink with friends to celebrate (or get upset) during your trading session… grab your journal and get to work!
Are you looking for your own place to record your market observations and trading statistics? If so, check out TRADEZELLA! It's easy to use
A blogging tool that can lead to valuable insights about performance and strategy! You can easily add your thoughts, plans and track your psychological state with each trade. Click here to see if this is right for you!Disclaimer: Babypips.com earns a commission from any signups through our affiliate link. When you subscribe using our affiliate links, it helps us maintain and improve our content, much of which is free and available to everyone – including Pipsology School! We appreciate your support and hope you find our content and services useful. Thank you!