So, you now have a trading system. You devised it, you tested it and you are already using it to trade the market. You may have automated it or you may still have to put your buy and sell orders manually, but for the moment, you really have nothing much to do apart from following your system with ironclad self-discipline. The question is: Now what do you do?
If you are one of those traders who reached this stage, the chances are you may have spent your last few months or years arriving at your system and now that you have it, you have spare time. With this spare time, you may find yourself watching the market day in and day out.
The danger with doing this is that you create opportunities to feel emotional about every single one of your trades and this may lead to undoing the results of your hard work. You begin to feel elated when you are making money and you might start breaking your rules. Conversely, you may feel down when you are losing money and you start doubting your system and thus, begin disobeying your trading rules. The problem might be that you have a good system and you are simply not giving it enough time for it to work.
If you think this is happening to you, consider that it might be best that you only watch the market when your trading system requires you to. You should also consider other ways in which you can best fill your spare time to serve your need to work, find your purpose and create a meaningful life. You must have other interests and ambitions.
Personally, I have always wanted to create a business that would serve the planet and millions of people so I can leave behind a legacy when I die. I know this sounds very grandiose but I know that you, the reader, also have similar aspirations deep inside. I know this because we are both human beings and human beings have the need for self-actualisation and self-transcendence (spiritual needs).
As a disciplined trader, you have many skills you can apply to business. You create systems, you are analytical, you are creative, you solve problems and you are results-oriented. These are all strengths that you can apply in the world of business. There are many opportunities out there for you to apply yourself and the lessons you learn from trading the financial markets.
by Marquez Comelab
Marquez Comelab is a private trader in Melbourne, Australia. He is the author of The Part-Time Currency Trader, a book on how to develop trading strategies. He is also the founding editor of The Part-Time Investor Magazine: an online magazine for traders and investors. See http://www.marquezcomelab.com.
