Since we're in the area of perception, the senses, and trading, this might be a propitious moment to reintroduce some long-ago text from a very wise person. Many years ago a fellow known as "Aleph Sigma Chi" posted a thread here titled "Unfashionable Advice". I hope he won't mind that it is quoted here:
In my early days as a trader I was exceptionally lucky to have a mentor. A man of senior years, kind manner and with the sharpness of wit and presence of mind only a veteran trader has. “Trading.” He said. “In no other field of human endeavor of which I have experience do so many enter with expectations of achieving immediate and overwhelming success, but with no intention, desire or expectation of expending the tremendous effort necessary in acquiring the appropriate level of skill, knowledge and experience required to ensure that success. And while initial underestimation of the amount of effort required can be forgiven, what stuns me still, is when they are given guidance from those who know just how much is required, they still believe they can do it without. Why is that?”
I know quite a few traders. That is, a few who have been trading a significant length of time and are consistently successful. I have also known a far higher number of ‘bright stars’ who burst upon the trading firmament, only to be engulfed by their own incandescence a short while after reaching their zenith.
Trading is not a get rich quick endeavor. Or if it is for you, the probability of you keeping your new found wealth over any usefully appreciable amount of time is very low. If you’re in that happy and dangerous situation - stop now and do something else! Anything else.
The only successful traders are those who have been doing it for a long while and they are successful because they have been doing it a long while. Circular? Yes. Helpful? Not at first glance. If you’re looking to find the Holy Grail you should switch off at this point.
For those who want to learn, they need to listen. And listen in a very different way to that which they are used to.
In the same way the human ear must physically detect acoustic vibrations to hear sounds, so must the trader train him or herself to detect information from across all the physical senses and from the supra-physical senses too.
Some will call it “traders’ intuition”, others “being in sync with the market”. But it goes much further than that. You must develop skills in order to develop skills. Do you understand this? The skills you must develop in order to develop the skills you need for trading successfully are focus, concentration, awareness and absolute and total commitment. To understand the difference between awareness and perception. And to train yourself to delay the transition of one into the other. This is just the start. If I were to tell you, honestly and simply, the process you will have to go through, the effort, the hours, the physical and mental strain and the contortions of mind you will need to perform – you would either not believe me or if you did, would choose not to do it. Who in their right mind would? But for those few who have no choice, who are burning with the passion to trade, the absolute need to trade, they will willingly follow and inwardly recognize and comprehend that what I am saying is true. Because they know it can’t be that easy. Or every fool and his dog would be doing it. These are the sensible ones. The ones that can learn.
This didn’t work for me. I didn’t want to go through all that hassle. I just wanted to trade. And quite frankly, I didn’t need to go through all that. Why? Because I could do it quicker, easier and make more money more quickly. Because I was special. Above average.
Years later and after serious initial capital losses, I realized I was the successful trader I had started out wanting to be. Through my own route. Ending up at that same destination my mentor had tried so hard to tell me about. I had learned my way. The hard way. The expensive way. I attempted to trade before I developed the characteristics of a successful trader. The wrong way round. The way most would-be traders do it. And he was right. If I had known just what would be involved I would never have undertaken the journey.
Has this put you off? Good. Because if my just telling you this can do it, you would never have lasted the journey anyway. I've saved you time, money and torment.
If however, you have no choice in the matter, you're probably made of trader stuff. Not only will you learn to trade, you will have had to develop skills that will have a value to you far greater than mere trading profits.
