Psychology & Trading

I used to wonder what the fuss is all about when people talk about trading and psychology in the same breath. It's only after I've traded for a while when I finally saw the relevancy of psychology to trading.

Specifically, it's all about tailoring (or matching) trading plans to suit YOUR OWN personal traits. Or taking someone else trading techniques and modifying it to suit to your own style.

Confused?

OK, let me give an example.

When I first started becoming a full time trader, I thought that I could trade 5 min charts and scalp my way to financial nirvana. I figured that since I can ogle at the charts all day long, I should have plenty of opportunity to rake in the pips.

Or so I thought.....

In the end, I found out that what I had originally wanted to do as a trader (which is to trade using 5m chart) and what I've actually found good at doing (which is trading using longer time frames), are entirely two DIFFERENT things!

No matter how hard I tried, I just could not get good results when I trade using 5m chart. I guess I am just not cut out to be a pip scalper.

Now how do I know that I'm more at ease trading longer time frames?

By doing lots of back testings & forward testings. In other words, lots of chart times.