Trading addiction
I'll kick things off by sharing some feels that might hit you like, 'Whoa, that's me,' and then I'll throw in a couple of tips on how to shake those feelings off. Trading's like an addiction, and you gotta tackle it just like you would with cigs or coffee.
Let’s kick things off by checking out a few basic states:
Mindless Chart Watching
You’re just scrolling through charts, flipping from one asset to the next. It’s all a waste of time, cause you don’t even know what you’re looking for. You can’t even brew a coffee, cause you’re glued to the screen.
Can’t Leave Positions Alone
You’re constantly checking your PnL, matching your thoughts with the current chart, watching every candle like it’s a thriller. You get lost in the charts, diving down to minute timeframes, and totally lose track of what’s going on.
Can’t Do Anything Without Charts
Eating → charts
Dinner with friends → charts
House chores → charts
Movie time → charts
Walk → charts
“I’ll just peek at my position and see what’s up with the market.”
You struggle to focus on anything without checking charts for too long.
Endless Info Overload
You’re consuming every piece of market info you can find. There’s no filter; you’re just soaking up everything in sight. There’s so much that you forget what you read like five minutes ago.
Opening Loads of Positions Daily, Always Changing Your Mind
Most likely, it’s just one coin, and you’re hoping to catch a big move your way. If nothing’s happening with your position and the PnL is slightly down/up, you’d rather dip out and jump back in a few minutes later.
Started as an Investor, Now You’re an Active Trader
A lot of you got into the market, picked up some cool stocks/projects that did well during the COVID and crypto bull runs. Wanting that kind of profit more often got you trading actively. You can’t even remember when you switched from investor to trader.
Struggling to Turn Off the Computer, Still Watching Charts
When you finally shut it down and hit the bed, the first thing you do is pull up charts on your phone. As soon as morning hits, your hand reaches for your phone to see what happened in the market overnight.
Some of these tips could turn you into a solid trader, but you gotta be mindful about your productivity and learning. A lot of these habits are just pointless or even harmful.
Markets throw endless opportunities at us every day
We've seen NFTs, the Metaverse, and AI - all just in the last couple of years. Trends come and go, but we're still stuck doing nothing.
We wanna jump on the next hype train, but instead of smart analysis, we get hit with primal excitement and this wild belief that big changes are about to happen.
There’s always gonna be a ton of junk in the markets that somehow blows up, making a few folks filthy rich. We love to hype those people up, but we rarely talk about the massive number who end up with nothing because of greed and impulsive moves.
The sooner you switch from that gamble mindset to a more systematic approach, and trade chasing big, shaky profits for steady small ones, the quicker you'll figure out how to make the markets your main cash flow.
Instead of just staring at charts for no reason, focus on some useful stuff that could actually level up your trading
Run some backtests with new variables, check out your trade stat from the past month, and if you don’t have one, start keeping track. Stop hunting for some “secret strategy” and spend time working on yourself. Your long-term success is all on you, not some magic indicator or levels.
Treat your trading day like a job
Spend focused and productive time on those charts, then take breaks. The hours you clock in don’t matter if the quality isn’t there. If you’re not getting enough sleep, how’s that gonna hit your performance in a couple of days? It’s the same with charts - learn to step away, even when you wanna stick around a bit longer.
Set a specific time for trading (like the first three hours of the New York session) and stick to it. When your trading time’s up, close your laptop and don’t touch your phone before bed.
Most of the time, there’s nothing worth your attention anyway.
Lower your risk and give yourself some time
You know that if you were consistent with your decisions and risk management, you’d see real success. It might take longer than just jumping into random trades, but knowing you’re pulling cash from the market thanks to your skills - not luck - is priceless.
Switch back to a higher timeframe
I’m not saying go back to investing, but just getting rid of all the timeframes below 1 hour in your platform can take your trading to the next level. You’ll chill out and stop making reckless moves on the minute chart.
You’ll have more time for hobbies, family, and personal growth, and I can almost guarantee your profits will improve. Instead of 10 trades a day, you’ll be making 10 trades a month and making more money. Your entries will be more solid and less affected by noise. You’ll see the bigger picture, and you won’t need outside opinions anymore.
Learn to Take a Break
And I ain't talking about a quick night off; I'm talking about a real, long break. If you’re feeling burnt out or losing your confidence in your system, just forget about the markets for a week or even a month. Stay away from the charts, don’t read any news—just hit the reset button. Sometimes you gotta clear out the junk in your head.
I regularly take a couple weeks off. It’s simple for me. If I’m not feeling it, I’m gonna do a bad job. And if I do a bad job, I won’t have any work. So I take a break and only come back when I know I can crush it.
This game is exhausting. It can really mess with your head and cause real-world problems when you’re throwing money down the drain. That addiction can be a big reason behind early trading mistakes. You gotta get a handle on it.
But you’ve gotta own it and start making changes. If it’s causing you stress or hurting your wallet, it’s time to do something about it.