How many times have you seen Forex traders (new and old) on the Internet forums searching for the Holy Grail of Forex — the one tried and true strategy, system, or automated trading program that will bring them success time and again — and never fail? And how many times do you see other traders contesting that there is no Forex Holy Grail, and that these traders are just kidding themselves? Well, the fact is, those traders who say there is no holy grail are partially right, but not entirely. If you are looking for a perfect system, you are not going to find it — but that does not mean there is not a Holy Grail of Forex — it is just not what you are probably thinking it is.
There is no such thing as a foolproof system, and there are a couple of reasons for this. The first is simply that it is statistically impossible since there is always some degree of chaos in the markets and in life. The second reason is that change happens, sometimes suddenly, sometimes gradually, but nothing can stop it, which means all systems will eventually fail unless they are adjusted.
Of course, if your system has recently failed, that may be what you are out searching for the Holy Grail (or maybe you are a newbie Forex trader, and you do not even have a working system yet). The fact is, though, you are not going to find it — the next system you find will fail eventually, and the next one, and the next one. But during all this time, you are getting distracted looking for new Forex systems instead of focusing on the real Holy Grail — which is you.
You are the one ingredient in your trading method over which you have relatively complete control. Of course, even that is never going to be perfect, but by honing your self-discipline, taking time to practice, and accepting that adaptation is always necessary in Forex and in life, you can improve your odds of success. That system you were using which was working well and suddenly broke one day is something you may be able to fix. Instead of going on a wild goose chase looking for the perfect system somewhere else, why not figure out why your perfectly adequate system has stopped working? It may be as simple as looking at the changes in the market and making some adjustments to compensate. Or perhaps you will figure out that what changed was not your system or the market, but you! So, the best way to search for the grail is look for it internally, rather than to continue the fruitless quest externally.
It takes time, faith, introspection, and dedication, but you will often get further by taking a deeper look at the system in which you have already invested your hard work than you will trying to build something entirely new from scratch. Does that mean that you will not have to build a new one? Not necessarily, but there is a good chance you will not. Many currency traders use variations on one trading method for many, many years (of course, this may not suit everyone). And either way, by analyzing what you have got instead of panicking, you will be developing positive personal attributes which will help you succeed in foreign exchange trading in the future.
