Pavel Belogour on Setting the Right Trading Goals
No matter how hard you try, you are statistically unlikely to achieve the goal of earning $1,000 in a week with only $10,000 to your name. Even if you set a more realistic profit expectations, your dreams of quick earnings will probably crash and burn. Achievable trading goals are Paul Belogour’s specialty. After almost two decades as a professional investor, he shares his insights with traders. You can benefit from his advice whether you’ve been trading for three weeks or a year.
Focus on Process, not Results
Mr. Belogour recommends new traders to forget about setting goals in pips or dollars. As an experienced trader, he suggests you focus on developing and establishing your own trading process. Demo accounts are perfect for this preliminary stage, and you have plenty of time to settle on a market analysis routine that works for you. It should become a daily ritual that will condition your mind to perform complex tasks without a second thought.
In their excitement, many newcomer traders spend hours and days staring at charts looking for the deal of a lifetime. Paul Belogour cautions against this unhealthy routine. While it is acceptable for the initial stage of your demo trading, it can ruin your live trading account. Instead, Mr. Belogour suggests you limit your daily screen time to 15-30 minutes. If nothing catches your eye, have the rest of the day off and come back the next day. While unexciting at first glance, process goals will have a significant impact in the long run, when you learn to make profitable split-second decisions.
Keep Your Trading Capital Safe
If you go into Forex trading intending to make a monthly profit of 20% you will quickly become disappointed and lose your money. Your story will join thousands of unsuccessful traders who fell victim to their own mistakes. To avoid this unenviable fate, Pavel Belogour reminds you of the first rule of trading: protecting your capital is more important than making a profit. After all, without the money to invest your trading days will be over.
To put this simple rule into practice, set the goals that will improve your discipline and decision-making abilities while keeping your capital secure. One example could be focusing on the quality of the trades instead of their quantity. Try slashing the number by a quarter or a third. If you made 24 deals last month, limit the number to 16 or 18 this month. You’ll have to consider the trades much more carefully, and your capital will be safer. Another great goal is to set a risk tolerance and ensure your trades do not exceed it. For example, if you lose 10% of your initial capital, stop trading for the month and focus on market analysis and trading discipline. These simple, yet effective, goals will keep you from ruining your account within weeks.
Let Your Goals Evolve and Celebrate Victories
No one would expect you to cook a Thanksgiving feast if you can’t even boil water. With practice, however, you could master all the recipes throughout the year and prepare a delightful meal for the family. The same step-by-step approach works for Forex trading. Pavel Belogour advises you to reevaluate and adjust your goals regularly according to your losses and earnings. Celebrate small victories and make most of your mistakes to move forward.
You can set realistic long-term goals, but don’t forget to support them with actionable execution plans. Otherwise, your dreams of passive income and a full bank account will hardly turn into reality.
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