Psychology plays an enormous role in online trading. Success is not just a matter of technique and skills, but also of mindset. In fact, it's mostly about mindset. In most cases, however, especially if you're a beginner, some "mentality flaws" persist - wrong thoughts that, by creeping into the trader's mind, hinder them in achieving their goals. In particular, there is a very deleterious attitude, apparently dictated by simple insecurity, but which can be definitively set aside with a very simple technique to implement. Here's what it's about.

The most common mentality flaw among traders: obsession

One of the most recurrent reasons why traders fail to achieve success is the following: they remain stuck in a vicious cycle, made up of an endless series of trades, continuous price monitoring, hesitations, and delays. These traders instinctively overexpose themselves, investing too much money per trade. If you engage in "large-scale" trading, the risk is becoming too dependent on what happens in the market, so much so that you don't exit until the market proves you right, which means exiting far too late. You belong to this category if you engage in a decidedly "obsessive" trading activity, i.e., if you frantically check your cell phone or computer all day long, almost without interruption, or if you even wake up in the middle of the night to check the price. If you compulsively feel the need to check what's happening, then you have a problem. This is the bad news; the good news is that the solution is within reach. Before discussing the solution, however, it's necessary to understand what causes this obsessive behavior. Generally, there are three main reasons. The position is too large. If the invested money is too much, the trader is overcome by a spiral of anxiety. Simply put, the stakes are too high. And anxiety, as we know, in trading as in life, leads to obsession. This translates into a tendency to waste too much time checking charts, rearranging positions, and entering or exiting too late. Education is poor or insufficient. This is a big problem but, unfortunately, very common. People often start trading without having acquired the necessary skills. It's not just superficiality that causes this. Often, lacking a clear and objectively satisfactory training path, the trader is led to believe they are prepared when they are not. So, when they face the market test, they are overwhelmed by a sense of insecurity, which translates into anxiety and thus leads to obsession. Dependence on technical analysis. It's not exactly a pathology, but it's still a disorder. Some traders seem to be comforted by viewing the chart. To be honest, this disorder is not exclusive to this field: it's simply a compulsive attitude that many suffer from and is not specific to any particular gesture. In this case, it's monitoring, but it could be anything.

How to overcome obsessive thoughts and attitudes

As we said, the solution is within reach. It's not about embarking on particularly deep introspective journeys. It's simply a matter of adopting some simple practical measures. Of course, the problem of obsession, if it's pathological and not contingent, cannot be solved in this way, but it would certainly lead to an attenuation of symptoms. In any case, here are four useful tips to drive away obsessive thoughts and attitudes. Reduce exposure. If the obsessive attitude is determined almost exclusively by the size of the exposure, there's only one thing left to do: reduce the invested capital. This advice is useful, if not decisive, and should be followed regardless of your Money Management path. If this, for example, by defining a maximum exposure of 2%, still produces positions that are too large to be managed from an emotional point of view, then it's better to be even more prudent for some time. Adjust exposure to your technical background. Let's be honest: often, traders start trading as if they were professionals, even if they are not at all. This means that if you've been on the market for a few months, it's best to invest only minimal amounts, regardless of what your Money Management system suggests. In addition, the advice is to reduce trading time, in order to carve out space to increase your education, while keeping in mind that the quickest method to learn is in the field. We can define this period as an extracurricular internship or as a sui generis form of school-work alternation. Exercise a routine. Obsessive attitudes are by definition repetitive. This means that the obsessive trader already has a routine, only it's wrong. So, start from scratch: draft a program, turn it into a routine (setting individual actions, establishing a precise time for each of them), and practice respecting it. At first, it will be very difficult and will require enormous willpower, but after a while, the force of habit will take its course, and you will be, at least superficially, cured. Have fun. This is a very useful piece of advice that many don't even think about. Many traders simply forget to have fun. They are completely absorbed by trading and struggle to get out of the cage they've built for themselves. Yet unplugging is not only useful, it's vital. It serves to recharge energy, clear the mind, and avoid dangerous overloads. So do whatever, outside of the market, can make you feel good: cultivate hobbies, go out, have fun...