How to begin trading without allowing fear to control you

[henmark]

Both of this the most effective approach for me to reduce fear in my mind, my mind is already trained to understand that trading isn't always about winning and I always expect that I could lose then I combine that mindset with good budget management to minimize my losses if my strategy doesn't work out.

Sometimes we're afraid because we don't want to lose money and we're too focused on the results rather than the process. hHving some fear can actually be beneficial because it makes us trade more carefully instead of rushing to open position due to FOMO.

Fear can also save us from making bad trades when we decide not to open a position because the current market situation makes us uncomfortable. It's normal to feel that way but as long as we keep trading we can gradually learn to control our fear.

Fear will make you freeze and make bad mistakes, and that is what whatever works for you to lower your fear, that is the right path forward. If you have 1-5 and you make sure your fear is lowered thanks to these, then you are doing the right thing. For me, it has always been "use money you are willing to lose" because that means, even if all of it is gone, then I am going to be fine, and my life won't change. That is what it means to be fine when losing, doesn't mean you should not be upset.

You can be upset, but will your life change? I have seen people who are accountants at a firm and use the entire payroll of the company to invest in crypto, so they could sell and make a large profit and lose it all. So yeah, THAT changes your life. What I mean is, you wake up and go to bed the same way as yesterday, and nothing changes; you can be sad, but that's it. If you do that, if you invest with that kind of money, if you trade with it and lose, then you should be fine.

[Natalim]

Fear is normal for beginner traders. And the only way to combat fear is through consistent trading experience in the market. And while its never easy to overcome one's fear, that's why there's no abrupt solution but a continuous process to lessen the fear until you no longer feel the fear when trading.

However, one way to reduce fear when trading is to manage risk and position sizing. Set a small amount and trade calmly. Losses may happen but at least its manageable. And stay away from leveraging. They don't actually help, but it only triggers intense physiological stress until you find yourself panicking when trading.

[snowpega]

I think fear is better than greed.
...

Haha, yeah, this is exactly what I was going to say here.


My answer to OP is that you will never prey to your fear if you are trading and planning well before entering the market.
And till then, as long as you are intact with your plan, you will easily control your emotions and greed at the same time. Aside from this, you should only use verified sources so that you don't fall prey to FOMO and FUD and always try to verify double time if you are getting any new news on any social media platform.

Because believe me, these social media accounts are big manipulators to change market emotions, and this can become big; you will lose your position in opened trade. Don't overthink anything if you have now entered the market because this will lead to making mixed decisions. And when you reach such a verge where you are so confused, then trust me it will it will become harder for you to decide which one is the best option to adopt, this or that. Just stay intact with your plans. DYOR!

[Ziskinberg]

Everyone likes trading, but because of the risk involved it makes others feel discouraged about it. I’ve noticed some don’t look for knowledge first before they start trading. They just focus on profit.

Beginner traders who feel afraid to trade are actually understandable to me. By feeling that way, they tend to act more carefully and thoughtfully. It’s different from beginners who are confident they can easily make a profit from trading. Those kinds of beginners will lose in the long run. Fear isn’t a problem when starting each trade; the important thing is that you do it correctly.

Yes, fear isn't a problem, but you have to learn how to overcome it in the long run because trading with fear isn't helpful, it will only prevent you from getting successful with trading. However, there are also beginner traders who are confident enough, but that's because they find trading so easy because they think trading is never that risky. But once they experience losses, that's the time they start to feel fear that they may endure losses the next time they trade.

But eventually, a good trader conquers his fear in due time. It does not have to be instant, but it only requires consitent trading in the market.

[citywise2]

I don’t really fancy Demo accounts and as a newbie in trading, if you’re using a demo account to trade, don’t use it for too long because it’ll affect your psychology more when you move to start trading with real account. If you’re buying by just clicking of buttons, then you’re making mistakes that will cost you your money. Have a strategy and work towards actualising that strategy to work for you.

You seem to be the first trader I have come across who is not at home with demo trading! One of the bulk of reasons why traders trade with fear is because deep down they know they are not ready yet to face it but the lure of money won't let sound reasoning prevail. You learn to trade with demo account, you test strategies and you only  move over to live trading after you are well able to double or triple your balance - an indication of hands-on experience. Besides you get to see market situations play out in demo trading so that when you come across them in live trade, you are obviously not meeting them for the first time.

[EarnOnVictor]

I think fear is better than greed.

In the worst case, yes, greed is worse. However, in trading, it's not about comparison between the two; after all, they are both psycholgologic issue that traders can face.

Do you know the worst part? As greed seems worse, do you know that fear could trigger it? This has happened to me many times before. Imagine being afraid to trade, and you miss the trade, and the market moved in that direction. If this happened a few more times, you might summon the courage to open the trade, and then you could lose.

If this persists, you might get angry and try to recover through revenge, and before you know it, you increase the risks and lose everything. That is just one out of what fear could cause, which is why it's better to avoid anything bad in trading, as it might trigger a sleeping worse problem in your trading.

[Arenga pinnata]

Fear is normal for beginner traders. And the only way to combat fear is through consistent trading experience in the market. And while its never easy to overcome one's fear, that's why there's no abrupt solution but a continuous process to lessen the fear until you no longer feel the fear when trading.

However, one way to reduce fear when trading is to manage risk and position sizing. Set a small amount and trade calmly. Losses may happen but at least its manageable. And stay away from leveraging. They don't actually help, but it only triggers intense physiological stress until you find yourself panicking when trading.

Excessive fear usually arises only when we’re using a significant amount of capital. And in reality, the capital we’re using isn’t entirely “cold money” meaning we aren’t fully prepared to accept the risk of loss. So it’s only natural that people like this, who are using capital they aren’t prepared to lose, will experience excessive fear. Experience in the market does indeed build a stronger mindset as one gains more experience.

However, I personally don’t always view fear as the primary issue we need to address. What we really need to control is greed. This is because most traders lose all their money due to greed. Fear can indeed cause traders to deviate from their own strategies due to market panic. However, it doesn’t result in losses as significant as those caused by greed.

[maydna]

Beginners sometimes not fear to begin trading but they want to make a profit. They don't learn much lessons about trading but directly begin without thinking if they losing money fast. They attract to trading to profit and not realize the risks behind of trading.

If they can follow @OP step, they will realize trading is not easy and need to have good skills so they will not directly trading without having proper skills because that will makes them lose. They will not trading because of FOMO but they will analyze first before begin trading.