The Realities Behind Day Trading: Fundamental Truths You Need to Know

Introduction

In this blog I will explain the reality behind crypto day trading and why day trading is not a get rich quick scheme like it is advertised in the media and by many trading gurus, and why it’s foolish to quit your 9 to 5 job to start day trading without having any idea of what you are getting into.

I will keep the whole blog very simple and straight to the point. If you are reading this, consider yourself lucky, because I'm going to share with you very accurate information that you won't find easily on the internet. 

Just a heads-up: having some basic knowledge of trading will help you better understand the key terms and concepts I mention in the blog.

The Fundamental Truths About Trading

Trading is 90% About the Mindset

Yes, you read that right! Day trading is 90% about the mindset. It does not matter how many chart patterns you know, how many techniques you know, how many indicators you use on the charts, how much your trading charts are messed up with all those bullshit indicators, unless you do not develop the correct mindset, you are bound to fail.

But what do I mean by a correct mindset? It's not necessarily about being mentally strong or being a tough guy. It’s all about developing a particular kind of mindset which is the key for a successful trading career. 

See, trading is all about dealing with money, you profit, and you lose, and 99% of the time you will lose big by liquidating your accounts when you are a beginner, so the journey is very stressful emotionally. 

But do you know that we can significantly minimize that pain and stressfulness? For that you need to develop a different kind of mindset.

Unfortunately this mindset is not present in you, it does not matter whether you are a doctor, a CEO, a scientist, a lawyer, an entrepreneur, software engineer or any other tough guy with a master degree or PHD in any field, because to get successful in all these fields we only require a natural mindset, which we all are born with.

The mindset that you and I and everyone has is what we call the natural mindset - this is the mindset driven by greed, fear and the need for certainty and to control our environment.

But this mindset is the most toxic mindset that you can bring to any kind of day trading, be it cryptocurrencies or forex.

For you to become successful in day trading, you need to invest your time to learn the mindset that you should develop for trading, and this mindset is called the probabilistic mindset. 

Probabilistic mindset is characterized by acceptance of uncertainty, focusing on probabilities, emotional detachment from individual outcomes and not trying to control the external environment but our inner self.

Therefore, I recommend everyone who is planning to start a career in trading or as a side business to read the book “Trading in the Zone” by Mark Douglas. This book will provide you with a strong foundation to attain the required mindset for trading.

Don't think that I'm talking nonsense and that you know everything and make the mistake of getting into trading out of greed to get rich quick. I hate to say this to you, but you are bound to fail, and you might never even understand what went wrong.

Therefore, it is much better to read a book regarding trading psychology, like Trading in the Zone, so that you will understand why and how emotions become a great barrier in trading and how to adopt a probabilistic mindset. However, this does not mean that without reading the book you would fail; of course, experiences can teach you the hard way.

Money Management, Technical and Fundamental Analysis: The 10%

Don't think that completing a diploma in technical analysis, fundamental analysis and money management will zeal your fate as a successful trader. That is total crap! If that was true, then everyone would be rich. What a relief to know that you can quit your 9 to 5 job that you hate and finally start something of your own isn't it? Don’t be naive!

Trading is a very competitive field, and you are competing with smart institutional traders (smart money) who have decades of experience and who have achieved the right mindset. They know how the game is played and how to take all your money into their hands easily with a few clicks!

What do you think? Do you really believe that knowing chart patterns and how to set stop losses and profit targets will magically help you to take money from the market? That’s like thinking you can win a chess game just because you know how the pieces move.

Take this seriously, institutional traders know every chart pattern that you know, and they also know the stop losses that you have set, and also the profit targets that you put in advance, the order books in the exchanges show all pending buy and sell orders crystal clearly and big traders have tools to monitor these things in very detail, so prepare to face many fadeouts and to lose some funds!. 

They also receive critical economic information before it becomes public. So, before the market reacts, they react first, then the market consisting of retail buyers and sellers follow suit. 

But don't get the wrong idea that technical analysis, money management and fundamental analysis are not important. All are really important and together, they form the backbone of a trader’s toolkit. 

For example, learning technical analysis helps you to identify opportunities in the market, identify the current market trends, spotting entry and exit points while money management helps you to survive in the game by protecting your capital in ways like setting stop losses and managing your position sizes.

Fundamental Analysis like learning how macroeconomic factors like inflation, interest rates, monetary policy, fiscal policy, exchange rates etc. affects the economy is crucial. Because markets always react to this news suddenly

In summary, technical analysis, money management and fundamental analysis is just the beginning of your journey. Learning these things is crucial but does not guarantee your success as a full-time trader. 

While these aspects make up only 10% of success, it’s crucial to master them fully. Even a small percentage can make a significant difference when applied correctly.

Trading is the Most Spiritual Journey You Embark On

Yes, this is 100% true, trading is the most spiritual journey that you can have in your life, and I will tell you why that is. 

Trading is dealing with money, every trade you put either makes you money or loses your money. This forces us to face our deepest fears, emotions and beliefs about ourselves. 

Trading also invites us to understand our emotions, the cause of our emotions and our actions governed by our emotions. 

To put it simply, trading provides us a way to understand ourselves more deeply than any other field. Let's look at some examples of this for a better understanding.

Imagine you take a trade, and it starts moving in your favor and you’re in profit. But suddenly, the price begins to drop slowly, eating away your gains. Fear kicks in. You panic, convinced you’ll lose the trade entirely. 

Instead of staying calm, you let the fear of being wrong take over you and exit the trade. Moments later, the price rebounds and moves back in your predicted direction, leaving you frustrated.

And what does this actually teach you?It teaches you to stay calm and disciplined even when your trades start to turn not in your favor. 

Why is this important? This is important because it makes you a disciplined trader, not to panic and react as a response to your emotions even when you lose on your trades. This is a must have quality, a quality that you need to develop to become a successful trader. 

Here’s another example: You start trading after completing a big course, but unfortunately, you keep experiencing losses.

Each loss pushes you to learn more - market strategies, indicators, and chart patterns. Why? Because you think by learning you can make profits and avoid many losses. You also think that learning makes you feel good, like it provides you a shield against the market and gives you confidence, making you think that you are unbeatable.

But despite all that knowledge, you still can’t get ahead. Your losses continue to outweigh your profits. The more you lose, the worse you feel about yourself, and the worse you feel about yourself, the more you will feel you need to learn. 

But without knowing your underlying problem, you continue your learning, making yourself get stuck in an endless cycle that eventually you would give up even without understanding what went wrong?

Actually, the underlying problem was that you were trying to control an unpredictable and uncertain market, you wanted to become formidable, thinking that by learning all the things out there on trading would help you to have authority over the market. This was the problem.  

To be a good trader, you have to surrender to the market and accept that the market is uncertain with all your heart, mind and soul. 

People undergo lots of emotional turmoil when they come to trading. 

Some get into trades because of the fear of missing out only to know it was a market tactic to shake out new retail traders, others have the fear of being wrong, others have fears of leaving open trades, they just can't take a break and relax enjoying other simple pleasures in their lives knowing that trades are open in their trading platforms. 

Some even stare at their screen the whole time allowing smaller price movements to cause them emotional distress and discomfort at every second.

Some people follow trading signals, and while it’s okay to use them from market experts if you’re doing a job and don’t plan to pursue trading as a full-time career, it’s a different story for those looking to make trading their profession.

If you want to build a career in trading, you need to understand that relying on trading signals will never make you a good trader. Why? Because you’re shifting the responsibility for your trades to someone else. And when things go wrong, it’s easy to place the blame on them instead of taking accountability.

I have also noticed that many so-called trading gurus out there are just so fake. They suck at trading, and the funny thing is their primary income comes from selling trading courses! These people cannot teach you how to become a full-time trader. They are just 100% fake.

I’ve seen people repeatedly make the same mistakes over and over again, and still they can't figure out what went wrong, and they begin to hate the market and hate themselves. They view the market as their enemy and end up losing all their hard-earned money. 

Trading is not a wrestling match or a duel. It's a spiritual journey. Trading invites you to understand your emotions deeply and control yourself. This not only makes you a more matured person, but this also makes you a more spiritual person and a good trader. 

Trading is also not for arrogant people. During my learning phase, I saw students bragging about their earnings, posting them on social media, and even showing off by putting money on their bed. Some even tried to teach their own lecturer.

But sadly, many of them ended up facing huge losses. Their fall was so hard that it humbled them and completely changed the way they viewed the market.

I personally know a person who teaches trading. He is my mentor and the only person I know who is very honest, spiritual, and mature for his age when it comes to trading. 

I remember he once told us that he lost $10,000 in a day due to being greedy in the market. On that day, he couldn’t even eat, sleep, or think clearly. He was mentally down, not knowing what to do. 

However, despite all the trials, challenges, regrets and financial setbacks, he managed to go forward in his trading journey. 

He shares many mistakes that typical traders make and explains how to avoid them at all costs. Apart from trading and providing market updates on crypto, he now practices meditation and studies how the human mind works. 

Isn’t it amazing to see how trading can transform a normal person to a very mature and spiritual one?

Final Thoughts

Just like how gold is purified by fire, challenges and trials refines a person’s character. If you are into trading, know that trading is a very serious business, and it takes so much effort to change the current mindset you have in order to reap the benefits.

Also know that in your trading journey you will face many ups and downs, but if you are the person who is learning from your mistakes, who can question your thoughts, who genuinely has a passion for this field, then trading is for you. 

Trading is a very lucrative field; it offers all the benefits you can think of. Independence, the ability to make money anywhere and anytime, the ability to travel and earn money, not to get stuck in a 9 to 5 job, after all it gives you financial freedom if done correctly. You only need a laptop and an internet connection.

But the path is not easy. The path is so narrow that only a few people make it. Many go to war, but only a few survive. Taking out a few soldiers in a war doesn’t make you a great soldier. 

Likewise, making some profits in the first few months won't make you a great trader. Remember that well.

If trading doesn’t align with your goals, perhaps exploring it as a side hustle by following expert trading signals or focusing on long-term investing could be alternatives. These approaches often require less emotional discipline than day trading.

Whatever path you choose, remember that success lies in your mindset, discipline, and willingness to grow and learn from your mistakes. Whether you aim to become a trader or pursue another dream, I wish you all the best in achieving your goals and may God bless you always.