Everyone can get caught up in headline news or economic forecasts, then forget if it has any bearing on their trades. You can be trading short-term, but managing your trade based on long-range macroeconomic forecasts. This is not a good thing. You need to decide BEFORE you enter a trade, what is your goal for that position. The exit and entry are key, of course. But you have to know your time frame and stick to it. Although, rarely, a DT (daytrade) maybe be held overnight by experienced traders. When you know your time frame, then you have to be disciplined to tune out market news “noise”. This is just part of learning to keep your emotions from running your trading.

The news that the housing market is terrible may affect your long term investing plan, but it probably isn’t something that will affect your DT on AMZN. However, if you have a DT position working in AAPL, and you just heard they decided to stop making I-everything, then you would want to exit that position, but hold on to your swing trade in Best-Buy.

My point is, it can be difficult to tune out those things which are not relevant to your trade. It takes practice and discipline. It is not impossible for you to trade different time frames on different stocks, but your plans must be in place before the market is open, and adhered to while the market is open. Traders tend to lose when they change their plans half-way through a trade. Those types of traders second guess themselves relentlessly. If you want to be successful, you must not change your plan on a working trade or, especially, when the market is open. You will be committing “capital” murder. (Sorry, it was that or “suicide”) Trust me–Just Don’t Do It! If you feel your plan needs revisions, do it when the market is closed! And, your plan will need revisions at some point, I promise. You always work to make your trades better. But, capital preservation is what allows you to stay around to “trade another day”.

There is much to learn about trading, whether you are new to the markets in general, or even an old hand. It’s a fascinating study in human behavior, of the crowd’s and of your own. I have come to love trading over the years. It can make your life better in many ways, not just because of the money, but because you can really get to know yourself and learn how to make life more enjoyable for you and your family.

My goal is to help you define your goal. What do you want from trading? Are your goals realistic? What time frame are you looking at for reaching your goals? What type of trading is best for you? (This can be very tricky! Many factors must be weighed when determining the type of trading you should be doing). I really look forward to helping you prosper and reach your goals in the months and years ahead.