Last week I was sharing some thoughts on the benefits of waiting, something that doesn’t come naturally to me, especially if I have to waste time at places like the state Department of Motor Vehicles. Last time I had to go there I was stuck waiting for over three hours. When I left (in a considerable bad temper) I stopped at a toy store to get my daughter a baseball bat. When the cashier asked to me, “Will that be cash or charge?”, I snapped back, “CASH!”, but then immediately apologized for being rude, and explained how my afternoon was wasted at the DMV. The cashier politely asked me, “Would you like the bat gift wrapped or are you going back there?”
Since I am by nature an impatient individual, when I’m wearing my trading hat I need to work really hard on reigning in my inpatient instincts. Happily, there is benefit to this. For instance, has this ever happened to you? You place a trade, and price action is stagnant all day. After several hours of sitting in the doldrums, you convince yourself this is going nowhere, and close the trade with a small loss. Twenty minutes later, price spikes heavily in what would have been your favor, and could have yielded a tidy profit had you just kept the trade open a little longer. I for one am guilty of this on more occasions than I care to remember. 
The essential arithmetic here is recognizing what exactly is wrong with this picture: the real failure is the emotional decision to close the trade, as opposed to a measured, more carefully weighted decision that may have made one inclined keep the position open a little longer and allowing it to earn a profit. The key phrase here is the “carefully weighted” decision versus the “emotional” decision. Also be aware of the flipside of this example where a trader is stuck in a losing position, but feels confident if he toughs it out, he won’t lose his shirt. While sticking with a losing trade may be the right thing to do, doing it for an emotional reason will likely increase losses as opposed to diminishing them.
Yes there’s no escaping it, Forex trading is definitely a waiting game. You have to wait for your chart to set up. You have to wait for a good entry. You have to wait for your position to develop. And, as all good things are worth waiting for, your reward will be worth the wait!
Of course, there are some really neat things available that you don’t have to wait at all for, especially if you’re new to Forex and currency trading and desirous of learning more and improving your trading skills. Consider the benefits of Sapphire membership in Slick Trade – the educational materials, expert advisors, advice from helpful members are just some of the benefits of membership, and best of all you don’t have to wait, you can do it today. So what are you waiting for?
That’s all for now, have a great week and, as always, thanks for reading. JC
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