January 6, 2012

JOV TIP OF THE WEEK

WRITTEN BY JONATHAN O. VELEZ

The JOV Tip of the Week will provide you with advanced Forex market trading tips and detailed educational lessons. Through these weekly tips you will achieve an intuitive understanding of world markets.

New Year Resolutions

"Look within ... Within is the foundation of the good" - Anonymous Farewell 2012 ... Hello 2013!!! As the clock approaches midnight on December 31st, it is good to reflect upon the year as a whole. It is essential and only a justice to yourself to look at who you are as a trader. How was the trading year of 2012 for you truthfully? Did you stick to your trading plan? Do those demons you sought to rid yourself of at the beginning of the year still exist? Did you progress and grow as a trader? If you are truly dedicated to your personal development as a trader you will boldly, brashly, and honestly answer these questions. Personally, each year when I review the year and grade myself as a trader, I tend to be a bit harsh. It stems from my Mother. I remember being in the third grade having received an 85% on a Social Studies examination and having to take it home to get signed by my parent. My Mother glanced at the exam and asked "what is this?". Not really the reaction I expected from a B grade but she signed it and said "Jonathan, don't come into this house with anything less than an A". Needless to say, my Mother set the tone of nothing below excellence. Luckily I was a straight A student throughout my school years. Otherwise, that would have been a lot of extra chores around the house. As you evaluate your 2012 trading year be sure to identify some elements of your trading that you need to improve upon. Write these down on a sticky note and keep it on your trading desk. Stick multiple sticky notes throughout your home, in your car, on the refrigerator, on your bathroom mirror. The daily reminder of these elements keeps us focused on progression and growth. It's a big help because we can easily deviate away from the focus as the year progresses and the ebbs and flows kick in. Here are a few common elements that traders typically have a need to focus on:

JOV TIP OF THE WEEK

Volume I. Issue I

1. More time in the chair, less time in front of the computer screen We all understand the importance of time in the chair. However, there is a difference between time in the chair and simply sitting in a chair. Just because you spend ten hours at your computer does not mean that all ten hours were counted towards the 10,000 hours needed to be a professional. Some traders feel the need to be at the computer screen nearly twenty-four hours each day. In actuality, this can be more detrimental than beneficial because the more you sit and stare at the chart the more prone you are to talking yourself into a trade. Focus on the time in the chair and not just sitting in the chair. 2. Keep it Simple Traders have a tendency to over think. Don't ! No need to make things more complicated than they need to be. Minimize your thinking. Just focus on trading. Do what you're supposed to do, when you're supposed to do it. 3. Sticking to the Plan Your trading plan was created, written, and developed with the help of an iFT Trading Coach for a reason: to keep your emotions in check and to provide a forced discipline upon yourself while trading the market. Don't deviate away from it. Stick to it. Whatever the year 2012 brought for you as a trader, the good, the bad, the indifferent, improve upon it. Use your weaknesses to create new strengths, use your strengths to remind yourself just how good of a trader you are today, and use the indifferent to realize just how far you still need to go. Happy New Year Traders !!!

Jonathan O. Velez The Golden Rule of Trading is ...

JOV TIP OF THE WEEK

Volume I. Issue I