This adage would ring very true in the stock market where patience is an imperative trait to make money, but sadly is a virtue often lacking. Winning traders are the one who exhibit patience. They want for ideal market conditions before entering a trade and once they enter their trade, they follow their trading plan. But, most traders are impatient. Some doctors have reasoned that impatient traders are obsessed with profits. This may well be so. Rather than focus on what is required to trade profitably, they dream about how marvelous it would be to spend the future profits immediately. They want to make money, and they want to make it today.

Evidently, that’s not the way it works. Thus the question, How does one become patient? The first step is to accept that one is impatient. Like Stanislaw J Lec says, “You must first have a lot of patience to learn to have patience”. This is easier said than done. It’s always difficult to admit your faults and limitations. Practice monitoring your trades and yourself objectively. Pretend as if you are watching a movie about yourself and watch yourself. Watch how impatient you are, look at yourself from the eyes of an objective observer and think about how you may act more patiently. Third, realize that your impatience may be a sign that you need protection from the potential harmful consequences of a trade. When you fear a potential loss, you’d impatiently close the trade rather than accept a bigger loss. Don’t let fear lurk in the corner of your mind but face them head on. Ask yourselves these questions: · Can you afford to lose capital over these trades or · Are you making up consequences that do not exist?

The answers to these questions will help you know the consequences of your actions and then you can decide how you deal with them. If you know you are able to handle the potential negative consequences better, then you’ll feel calmer and be able to control your impulses. Next, scrutinize the situations that preceded your impatient behaviour and avoid them. There could be a number of factors like · Hunger or · Anger · Tiredness · Or the fear that you were risking too much

Study them and avoid them. And most importantly, examine your self talk. It is the most important tool for success. A wise man once said, ‘You are what you think’. Impatient people say things like ‘ Its now or never’ or ‘I have to get it right this time, or else I never will’ or ‘I must make a profit’ or worse still, ‘ it’ll be unbearable until I make a profit’. When you notice yourself making these statements, then refute them immediately. Ruth Barons in ‘7 deadly Sins of trading’ suggests a more supportive approach.. Try saying, “Time is on my side. The market moves in its own rhythm and I can go fast or slow depending on its pace”. Resist the temptation of acting on an impulse. Remember that trading takes time. There is no rule that says that you have to make money today. There is no need to either. Instead, taking your time would give you valuable experience and build requisite skills. The quote by Franz Kafka aptly sums this up when he says, “There art two cardinal sins from which all others spring: Impatience and Laziness.”