“I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
Only I will remain”
– Litany against fear
Fear is the mind killer. It is the little death of your trading account.
The sci-fi fans amongst us will recognise the litany against fear as a Bene Gesserit saying from Frank Herbert’s novel Dune.
And is it just as relevant now to the Forex trader as it is in the far future.
Fear comes in all shapes and sizes. Not only do we fear loss.
We fear to win. We fear to lose our profits. We fear not being right.
Your decision to exit the markets should be based on two things:
- Your objectives
- What the market is doing
If a trader is taking profits out of a desire to justify their trade idea, rather than because the market is telling them to do so, then that is fear speaking. It is a fear of letting the trade evolve (in a good or bad way). A lack of confidence in their ability.
By taking profits the trader is trying to prove that they are right. They are all too happy to take their winners off the table for minimal gains, while they hold on to the losers without cutting them short. These are two sides of the same “trying to be right” coin – and fear of not being right leads to the wrong decision time and time again.
Time to let the fear pass over and though you. To turn your mind’s eye and see its path. Leaving only the pure trader-self remaining.
About the Author
Sam Eder is a currency trader and author of the Definitive Guide to Developing a Winning Forex Trading System and the Advanced Forex Course for Smart Traders (get free access). He is the owner of www.fxrenew.com a provider of Forex signals from ex-bank and hedge fund traders (get a free trial). If you like Sam’s writing you can subscribe to his newsletter.
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