What keeps traders from moving forward?

As a person I have always believed that anyone can achieve great success in life, love, work and even trading, but I always believed (and strongly continue to believe) that it's not easy, yet it remains very possible for anyone.

Some people are born with bigger challenges than others, yet that is exactly the motivation which we should all use to achieve our goals. Our problems, weaknesses and challenges should be our main source of motivation!

Now, we all like to achieve some level of success in all fields of our lives but the problem is that 90% of the people (more/less) do not achieve any satisfactory level of success in the most important sectors of their lives, which are love, family, money, health, happiness (and the list goes on...).

Anyway, let's begin this post, I will kick it off with a question.

The question is, What is standing between your current reality (where you are now) and your ultimate vision (where you want to be)?

Your answer to this question will begin your own story and whether this story ends in happiness and success or misery and failure, is 100% up to you.

And until you answer what is causing the difference you will be stuck spinning your wheels in the mud...

This is an important question that requires a level of mental self-examination and the answer to this question may require a lifetime of introspection, but answering it will give you the road map of what you need to learn, improve, remove, do etc.. so you can grow as a trader.

It is an important question to answer because if you know where you want to go that provides direction but examining why you are not there yet can provide momentum. (In other words, by answering the question it may get you there faster!)

It’s just like following a road map. A map is useless unless you know two things, 1. where you are, and 2. where you want to go.

I've spoke to thousands of traders and investors in my life so far and I’ve asked this same question many of them, I got many different replies but the below four reasons are the main ones which traders from moving forward.

1. Lack of vision

How do you plan to get there, if you don’t know where “there” is? The most difficult undertaking in the world is to sit quietly with a blank sheet of paper and chart out your future. I know, I have many blank sheets of paper to prove it. However, I also found out that it only takes one sheet, with a few well-crafted lines of thought to give you the direction you need. But you need to start!

2. Lack of goals

So, you know where you want to go, you just don’t know how to get there. The second hardest thing in the world is to have a sheet of paper with your ultimate destination on top, and the rest blank as you ask yourself, now what or how do I get to my vision? The process of functional decomposition means breaking down the larger process into steps that are both actionable and motivational. In other words, the steps are small enough to do and you remain motivated because they are so small.

3. You don’t believe you can SUCCEED IN TRADING

You want to, but there is a script running through your head telling you to go home, make some chicken soup and don’t leave the house until these foolish notions of greatness are gone. Think about it, your parents never did what you are trying to do, no one in your family has ever done it, you are far too old (or too young) to do that, you don’t have the right education…your rationalizing can go on for a lifetime! Here is my suggestion when it comes to running those self-deprecating scripts: STOP IT!

4. You are lazy

You won’t admit this to yourself, but perhaps you are just plain lazy. I’ve seen it so many times; individuals majoring in minors. Performing high fun, low payoff activities instead of the low fun, high payoff activities. As a species we are inclined to take the path of least resistance, but that path will not lead us to our vision, but you must admit, we are having a great time NOT moving toward our vision! Laziness is not “doing nothing.” It’s doing the wrong thing because that’s what you want to do, and, very often, we know it’s the wrong thing to do!

There you have the four possible things that might be holding you back from the realization of your vision.

Answer this question before you head off to another website:

What is standing between YOU and YOUR success IN THE MARKETS?

Let me know in the comments below:

Take it easy and happy trading!