89% of traders lose money. Scary number, isn’t it?
But turn it around, and it means 11% make money.
If they can do it, why not you?
I can already hear the excuses...
No, it’s not about luck or natural talent, though those can help.
It’s about discipline, mindset and, above all, optimism.
I can say that because I’ve been through periods with all three, and periods without them.
The comparison trap
How often have you compared yourself with other traders?
The ones posting impressive profits on social media, the ones who seem to succeed effortlessly, or the ones becoming millionaires in three months.
Plenty are lying, but that’s not today’s topic.
The problem is that you’re probably comparing yourself with people who have years of trading experience.
That makes no sense, and all it does is discourage you.
Instead of watching what everyone else is doing, focus on your own progress.
Every trader has their own path, mistakes and pace.
The myth of quick results
We live in a world where everything moves fast.
We want it all, right now. But trading doesn’t work like that.
Neither do most things, actually...
How many traders give up after a few weeks because they haven’t seen immediate results?
How many lose their entire account in weeks simply because they wanted results too quickly?
The reality is that profitability takes time.
One bad week or month doesn’t define your success as a trader.
What matters is what you do over the long term.
Optimism
You need optimism. Not the naive kind that tells you everything will work out without effort.
Realistic optimism: believing things can work out, while knowing you’ll have to put the work in.
A lot of work.
Because when others give up, you keep going.
You learn, adapt and improve.
That’s what separates you from the 89%.
What you can do today
Start by showing up consistently.
I say that because I’ve seen plenty of people neglect it.
You can’t call yourself a trader or talk about optimism if you only trade for five minutes a day.
Every day, make the effort to sit down at your screen to:
- Learn and test strategies
- Trade: theory is useful, but practice makes the difference
- Reinforce your strategy by repeating it until it feels natural
Give it at least 30 minutes a day.
Repeated over months, those small efforts add up to hours of experience.
And that experience is what gives you a real reason to be optimistic.
Without it, optimism is just naive and useless.
What next?
Once you’re in the habit of showing up consistently, start taking a step back and reviewing your trades each week.
What worked? What didn’t?
Identify what’s hurting your results.
Is it risk management? Discipline? Emotions?
Then work on those points, setting a clear goal to improve one thing at a time.
And once you’ve gone through all those steps, start again from the beginning.