“You must understand that there is more than one path to the top of the mountain.”- Miyamoto Musashi, A Book of Five Rings: The Classic Guide to Strategy

Many experienced traders say that the stiffest challenge you’ll face in becoming a futures trader is conquering your own psyche. Why? Because losing is part of trading, and people hate to lose.

Losing money is a particularly difficult test for new traders, who tend to lose very often. It is very hard to believe in yourself when you have no history of success and no way to put losses in perspective. But, being a good trader is like being a good baseball player who is considered a superstar if he gets on base 4 times out of 10. You don’t have to win every time to be a successful trader. You just have to understand that’s the way it is and be comfortable with it.

Here’s what Tom Basso, a successful money manager, has to say about the importance of trading psychology:

"I started out by worrying about the system I was going to use to trade, then I worked on risk management and volatility control, then on the psychology of trading. If I had it to do over again, I would reverse the process completely. I think investment psychology is by far the most important element, followed by risk control, with the least important consideration being the question of where you buy and sell.”

This section is designed to help you:

• Understand your personal psychological barriers that you will have to overcome to become successful
• Examine why some traders make bad decisions and how you can overcome the urge to self-destruct
• Reinforce the importance of developing a trading plan that is unique to you and your personality