2nd Skies Trading

2nd Skies Trading Logo

The Trading Mindset: Frustration Leads to Learning

I was listening intently to an interview of a professional athlete, talking about playing against one of the best teams in their league. Instead of being intimidated by the prospect of playing such a highly dominant team, they had the following to say;

“These are the games you really look for. They force you to test yourself, to find out what you are doing well, and what you need to work on.”
If there is a mindset or quality I’d like to install in every trader, it would be what this athlete was conveying. They looked forward to the challenge they were up against.
They weren’t worried so much about making mistakes, or not being able to handle the more dominant team.
If they couldn’t, it meant they had things to work on.
Frustration Leads to Learning
Developing traders need to build this type of successful mindset. Losses will happen, you will be frustrated at times, and the market will not always make sense. These experiences can last for hours, days, weeks, perhaps months.
How you respond to each and every trade matters more than you can imagine.

frustration leads to learning 2ndskiesforex
If you as a trader are going through, or have recently gone through a frustrating period – you have to let that ‘feeling’ of frustration be temporary. It is ok to experience stress in trading, but it is not constructive to define yourself by your frustration.

Frustration must lead to learning.
Better to have the approach that any losses, mistakes, or frustrations are learning experiences. That you actively seek out the challenges inherent in the markets.
Approaching every single trade as a learning experience, will help you see the bigger picture and build confidence in your trading.
Opportunities to Learn
Each trade and moment behind the charts is an opportunity to learn.
Are you really trading like a sniper, or just sitting on your hands waiting for some perfect setup? Are you trading to be right, or are you actively focusing on improving your skills? Are you working to accelerate your learning curve, or are you letting your emotions define your experience?
Frustration must lead to learning – in fact all trades must lead to learning. You either win, lose, or learn from each trade. The first two you cannot control entirely, but you can with the last. And which do you think leads to your development as a trader?
The best athletes, professionals, and successful traders learn from each trade, and maximize every chance to learn. This is part of building a successful mindset, which is essential and required for trading successfully.

michael jordan obstacles dont have to stop you 2ndskiesforex
Ask yourself, how would your trading experience and mindset differ if you looked forward to the challenges, and the frustrating moments, learning from each? How would this change your daily approach and thoughts when engaging the markets each day?

What parts of the above can you work on, and what have you noticed about yourself after reading this article?
Please make sure to comment, share your current experiences, and what you thought about these suggestions.

10 thoughts on “The Trading Mindset: Frustration Leads to Learning”

  1. Hi Chris,
    great article as always. One thing always comes to my mind when someone makes this comparison of trading to sports. In Sports there is this ultimate goal of winning the Stanley Cup, Olympic medal…..you know what I mean. So, there is this big event and that comes with outbursts of energy and joy when we make it.
    In trading we try to eleminate emotions if I am getting this right. What do you think of this discrepancy and how can we deal with this lack of tension release?
    Would you recommend setting monetary goals like when I made xx amount a will party that like I won the Stanley Cup?
    Cheers

    1. Hello Werder,
      Good questions. First off, we don’t ‘eliminate’ emotions, as that technically is impossible for the most part. We want to transform or harness emotions, not abate something that is biologically useful for us when experienced correctly.
      As to your second question, I don’t recommend setting monetary goals, especially since you’ll likely focus on the target, not the process.
      Process first is my recommendation.
      Hope this helps

  2. More valuable insight into the importance of getting your mindset just right. Another fantastic article (mind you I’ve never read a lame one by you yet). Love your work Chris. Thank you.

    1. Hola Mark,
      Good to hear from you again so soon. Yes, getting one’s mindset right is one of the most important things you can do, in both trading and life, so glad you noticed this.
      Best Regards,
      Chris

  3. Chris,
    Thanks for this article. I have been experiencing some frustration. It is a roller coaster of emotion that I try to remove from my trading but, because I want so badly to trade full time I experience the emotions. One week, returns look great only to lose them the next. This is the story for me the past 6 years.
    Thanks again for another great article.
    Kind regards,
    Blake J

    1. Hello Blake,
      Glad you enjoyed this article. Yes, frustration will happen, the key is not to let it take us on the roller coaster ride. That starts by recognizing it, then learning how to transform it. If we define ourselves by the outer reality, we will likely have a crazy experience of ourselves. There are ways to get past this though.
      Kind Regards,
      Chris Capre

Comments are closed.

Scroll to Top

Launch your trading journey

Take the next step

Get 15% off any of our courses
this March with code JUMP15

This Month - 18% Off Any Course

The Trading Force

Awaken your trading force with code AWAKEN18 at checkout.

Get 18% savings on any course this February!