Qualitative Risk
We’re now leaving the realms of numbers and entering your mind and your
habits. Obviously, this is a more difficult thing to measure, and a lot of it
ties in with your mindset. Even if you’re following a purely mechanical
system
of trading, you will still need to ensure your mind is prepared for
trading in the best way possible.
Consistency and the degree to which you can repeat good habits are key to
managing qualitative risk. While the numbers
play an important part and
your technical strategy takes care of your order entries, you still need to be
of sound mind to execute them.
The following habits will calm your mind and prepare it for trading in an
optimal way. It is essential for you to see how following these habits will
not only make you money but also minimize your chances of losing it in the
long run.
Exercise
Get moving and break out into a sweat. Do something to make sure you’re
exercising—be it walking, playing around with your dog, running, anything
at all. Physical activity helps clear the cobwebs in your mind, and it helps
you feel fresh and energized. You need to approach trading the same way a
professional athlete approaches their game.
This means you must prepare your body for the trading session. While
physically trading isn’t demanding, you’re going to be sitting and staring at
a screen for quite some time. This puts stress on your body, and it is not
good for your health. Exercise reduces this risk and keeps you fit and fresh.
Try to finish your workout a few hours before you trade. Trading right after
a heavy workout isn’t
ideal for a number of reasons, which I hopefully
don’t need to go over.
Diet
While you can eat as unhealthy as you want
and not have it affect your
trading, this is more about just taking care of yourself so as to be as healthy
as you can be. Remember, risk management
is about managing your
downside. If you’re sick, you can’t possibly trade,
so preventing getting
sick is far better than treating it.
While this isn’t a diet book, make sure you are satiated and try not to eat
anything heavy during the session. This causes you to get drowsy, and you
might end up executing your strategy wrong.
Sleep
This one is non-negotiable. You cannot function on less than eight or how
many ever appropriate hours of sleep you need. Some people think they can
tough it out on just five or six hours, but this is simply idiotic. Your brain
needs rest in order to function properly, and trading puts serious amounts of
stress on your mind.
Therefore, you need to ensure you’re well rested and make sleep a priority.
Do whatever it takes to sleep well, and if you feel tired or lacking in energy
during the trading day, walk away from the screen. The market will always
be there, and you don’t need to trade every single minute of it.
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