Let’s be honest: as a stock trader, even if you’re experienced, you make an awful lot of mistakes. If you are to build an indomitable and high-return portfolio, it’s essential that you eliminate these mistakes. A New Year is a great opportunity for this.

Here are 9 mistakes you must avoid to be a better stock trader in 2020:

• Trading emotionally to recover losses. Often you will end up losing even more. Trade rationally. Never let the emotions get the best of your thoughtful strategy.

• Following the unreliable news resources. They spread FUD and trigger FOMO. Be very, very careful about the individuals and news sources you get your market updates from.

• Not actively learning every day. The stock market is dynamic that changes every hour. You must invest a massive amount of time to learn the basic and advanced concepts so as to understand the market movements in a much more analytical way. If you’re new at it, enroll yourself in the stock market course for beginners. If you’ve been in the game for some time, enroll yourself in stock market courses that focus on technical analysis.

• Relying on your stock market consultant blindly. It’s good to have an expert by your side to navigate you in the right direction. However, it’s essential to do your own analysis and make your own calls instead of blindly relying on others.

• Listening to stock traders who have no clue about the market whatsoever.

• Not networking with stock traders who have a solid portfolio and a great track record of making correct trading calls.

• Working with short-term, money-centric goals. The path to building a high-worth portfolio is long, which demands a long-term plan and smart smaller goals.

• Not diversifying your portfolio. Although it’s a very common rule that you shouldn’t put all your eggs in one basket, it’s surprising that so many people still don’t follow it.

• Not having enough liquidity. Many beginners, in particular, spend all their income and savings in stock. It’s a mistake. You must be adequately liquid to meet emergency needs.

These are nine mistakes you must give up in 2020 to become a better stock market trader. Tap on the new opportunities and a clean slate that New Year brings us all. Become better at stock trading.

A stock trader or investor?

Here are 7 stock market memes that will make you laugh hard and teach you a few lessons that your stock market training couldn’t:

1. What so many new stock traders want to do…

The idea of being a day trader is quite exciting. But it’s also far from easy. 

Day trading is much more than just “buy low, sell high”. 

Usually, the new traders, day-trading with no thorough planning and strategy, end up with big losses.

2. *Surprise* Not everybody is a stock trader or investor

Stock trading is difficult. It’s not an easy money scheme – an appeal and narrative that attracts thousands of new players every day.

Trading requires a ridiculous amount of work on a daily basis.

If you want to make a million in a month, you’re in the wrong field.

3. It’s risky… very risky

Unless you have enough wealth that you can afford to lose – or if you have extensive market knowledge – you’re better off staying from the market. 

Even if you have gone through the best online trading training and have the right consultants by your side, there’s always the risk of losing money.

4. Stock trading is an addiction for many

Yes, Hollywood may paint the picture a bit exaggeratingly. But, in reality, many stock traders are hooked to the game. And this isn’t all about money.

When you understand the stock market closely and all its dynamics, behind the veil of risks and losses, trading is quite fun.

You can be one of them. You just have to love the process and not chase money.

5. Don’t be one of them

Being a successful stock trader isn’t about the money you made in your last trade. It’s about the kind of portfolio you have managed to build over the months and years. 

So, just because you’re making profits from your trades, don’t change your social media bio to “stock trader”.

6. Are you missing similar opportunities right now?

Many stock traders invest in companies based on those companies’ current performance.

That’s a good strategy when you’re a trader. For the investors though, factoring the prospect of the company and its anticipated future growth is very important.

Investors missed the chance to invest in Amazon stocks in the late 1990s. Don’t miss the opportunities this time.

Look around and find the Amazon of 2019 and 2020.

7. Portfolio diversification is essential 

It’s boring advice. Moreover, the market hasn’t seen major crashes in recent times that undermine this rule’s relevance. This is why so many new stock investors take this advice rather lightly. 

But strategically, to eliminate risks, build a sustainable portfolio and survive crashes, diversifying your portfolio is essential. 

Share more stock market memes on Twitter with Bharat Jhunjhunwala at @BharatJ82. 

Yes, you buy and sell stocks… And your social media bio does say you’re a stock trader. But then, are you really?

There’s a big difference between being a stock trader and being a serious stock trader. The former, almost imminently, is expected to end with big losses, while the latter works with a thorough plan that enables her/him to build a high-worth portfolio.

So, what kind of stock trader are you – serious one or just a casual one?

Here are three signs you’re NOT a serious stock trader:

1.You don’t dedicate an amount of time to it every day

A large population of stock traders is in the game part-time. That isn’t wrong or a problem in itself. The problem is when, in the name of ‘part-time’, they don’t commit sufficient amount of time in trading regularly. If you’re one of them, you aren’t exactly a serious trader. To be a profitable trader, it’s essential that you take out a significant amount of time every day to commit to trading – to buy/sell, analyze the market trends, talk to industry people, and consume relevant content.

2.You don’t have a well-defined goal 

This is a big mistake of the new players. They start trading with short-term, money-centric intent. They just want to trade to make money. This overall vagueness derails their trades and pace. You must know exactly what you want to achieve; how much money you want to make; where you see your portfolio in the next 6 and 20 months from now. When you know “how much”, you will automatically get to plan how you’re going to achieve that. 

3.You aren’t actively learning and growing 

You’re never perfect. There’s always a room to improve yourself, as well as your plans and strategies. If you aren’t actively investing in learning and growing yourself, you’re creating a recipe for losses and unsustainability. As a serious stock trader, you must enroll self in a good share market trading course. You must learn from online trading courses and expert articles about technical analysis. You must learn from the market movements, as well as from your own losses and mistakes.

These are three signs that you aren’t exactly a serious stock trader. If you see these signs, it’s important that you fix them in order to make better trades and build for yourself a high-worth portfolio. 

No matter how good of a stock trader you were and how great your strategy was, this was inevitably coming. After all, a loss is a part of the game. You will lose money in stock trading. Moreover, small losses are often essential to pave you the way towards greater returns.

However, that said, recovering from big stock trading losses could be tough; more so for the beginners who still struggle to trade without emotions.

Recommended Read: Are Your Emotions Limiting You As a Stock Trader?

To help you with it, here are five simple tips on how to recover like a pro from big stock trading losses:

1. STOP. 

Meaning, do not act emotionally and trade to recover your losses. Stop yourself from taking further actions.

After big losses, many traders try to recover their lost amount quickly. Don’t be one of them!

In haste, you will only end up making more mistakes, further hurting your portfolio.

2. Accept the loss 

If it’s really a “big” loss, it could be difficult to come to terms with that reality that you lost such a big amount of money.

Of course, this is easier said than done but you must allow yourself enough time to embrace the loss.

3. What went wrong?

Losing is undesirable. But one of the best things about losing is the learning part. You learn a lot.

So, after losing money in your trades, spend some time taking out the lessons for future reference. What did you do wrong here? What went bad? How this loss could have been avoided?

Answer such key questions in retrospection to extract learning value for them.

4. Adjust your plan

You don’t have to adjust your long-term goal, but you definitely have to make some changes in your short-term plan that incorporates this big loss. 

So, give your plan a hard look and readjust it to really bring you back on the right track.

5. Take some time off 

After such big losses, it’s usually desirable to take some time off stock trading and help yourself recover mentally.

This is more important today than ever when traders are evidently showing signs of burnout.

So, if possible, take some time off.

And during that off-time, invest in yourself to grow. Go on a wellness holiday, enroll self in online trading courses, spend more time with the family, and fix your diet.

Especially going through a good share market trading course can help you a lot in plenty of ways, from helping you understand the market better to assisting you in making a better strategy this time.

These are five simple tips on how you can recover from a big stock trading loss like a pro.

There’s a lot more to become a full-time (profitable) stock trader than just reading a few articles and completing a trading course. Of course, you need the right technical skill. However, often overlooked, you need the right mindset to take all the mental pressure that the game entails.

So, if you plan or aspire to become a full-time stock trader, here are three essentials you’re going to need:

1.Appetite for losses

No matter how “great” and “perfect” your trading strategy is, you’re still going to lose money. It’s inevitable. Somewhere, sometime, you will eventually fail to match the market’s pace, eventually losing money.

Moreover, when you’re trying to build a high-value portfolio, you’re going to have to take (calculative) risks, which would further increase the chances of loss.

So, you must have the right appetite for such losses – both financially and mentally.

2.Patience to observe the market

Stock trading isn’t just about pacing in the room, making calls and buying-selling in frantic. It isn’t as chaotic as the mainstream perceives it. More often than not you’ll have to sit back, relax and watch the market movement intently. You would need to stop and analyze the trends.

Often, you will find it extremely boring.

All these require you to have enough patience and NOT make immature decisions.

This is important to make the right moves, not give in to market FUD and prevent self from trading emotionally.

3.In-depth technical knowledge

Stock trading is more than just buying low and selling high. The biggest challenge would be for you to actually spot such opportunities and then (try to) time the trade so to maximize the return.

If you don’t have in-depth knowledge of technical analysis, you’re going to find it difficult to survive as a full-time stock trader.

So, if you’re really weak in this department, enroll in online trading courses that focus on the technical aspect of trading. Learn and grow.

Conclusion 

Of course, you need much, much more to be a successful, full-time trader, including a well-defined trading plan, a network of reliable traders for support, and expert assistance among others. But the above mentioned three are essentials that often get discredited or overshadowed.

If you’re starting in the game, always know what it takes to win at it. Have the three essentials and you would be off to a good start. 

You can’t just complete a good share market trading course and expect to unlock a fortune. Interestingly, that's what so many beginners do.

That's not all! There is plenty that goes wrong with the new stock traders.

Here are 7 types of stock trading beginners you will find:

1. Those who think they have figured it out

2. Ones who plan and plan and plan some more

3. Those who want a big profit in a week

4. Those who wait for the "perfect opportunity"

5. Those who know no more than "buy low, sell high"

6. Those who are too nervous to make the trade

7. Them after every loss...

Conclusion

Stock trading is far from "easy" that so many online articles suggest. However, in the same breath, it is equally simple.

And the simplest rule of the game is: Be a lifelong learner.

If you're not growing as a stock trader, you will inevitably fail.

So, invest in your knowledge and skills every day. Enroll in stock market courses India that best fits your needs. Read daily news from reliable sources. Analyze charts to understand new market trends. And just keep improving your trading strategy.

There are no hard rules for this "how". Generally put, the answer varies depending on individuals: what kind of learners they are, what trading goals they have, and where they are right now. Some could get better at trading by just looking at videos, others might need stock market courses and personalized help from experts. 

So, in that context, the simplest way to become a better trader is to get self-aware and then map your journey ahead accordingly.

How Good Are You As a Trader?

Before you try to get "better", you must know how "good" (or bad) you are in the first place. So, audit yourself as a trader. Understand your proficiency level, what kind of mistakes you make, what kind of trading plan and strategies you have. 

This is the foremost step in the process. By the end, you will have a fair idea of where you are, where you have to go and how you can get there. 

Consume The Right Content

One of the best things about being a trader today is that there is limitless content available online, for free, teaching you how to become (a successful) one. So, right in the comfort of your bed, you can read resourceful articles and watch tutorial videos to learn about better trading tactics and strategies. 

Find a handful of good websites and channels that has the kind of content you’re looking for and that you can rely on. And then follow them religiously on a daily basis.

Enroll In Stock Trading Courses 

Even when you’re a self-learner, this is essential. In particular for the beginners. 

Stock market courses can play a big difference-maker for you, helping you learn the basic, as well as the advanced concepts rather easily and quickly. 

It's difficult to learn about technical analysis through articles. For effective learning, you need practical guidance so that you not only understand the different indicators but also know how to use them in your own trades. And this is where the right stock trading courses come into play. 

So, do your research and find a good stock trading course that ideally suits your needs and goals.

Adopt A Leaner's Mindset

To become a better trader, you must keep yourself open to new ideas and concepts. You must always be eager to learn new things. This is essential. 

In short, you need to have a learner's mindset, irrespective of whether you’re a beginner or have been in the game for years. 

Recommended Read: A Simple Step To Achieve Breakthrough in Stock Trading 

These are basic measures on how you can become a better trader. Of course, it's not easy. However, the rewards lined ahead make all the hard work very much worth it.