Tangibility of anticipation

Trading instincts make up a core part of trading psychology. They also fall into three main groups, tangibility of anticipation, sensory-derived bias, and avoiding the vague. Here we’ll be discussing tangibility of anticipation.

Trading is complex, rooted in unpredictability, volatility, and nuance. There is little one can do to control outcomes and its speculative nature becomes this rollercoaster ride of decision making.

And we all know what being on a rollercoaster feels like, it’s exhilarating, scary, stressful, and so much more!

We also know that financial decision making is often based on using one’s instincts, especially in trading.

But if those instincts are lacking in knowledge or experience, well, adverse outcomes are very likely.

What is tangibility of anticipation?

This subcategory of trading instincts relates to when a trader’s focus is primarily directed towards the anticipation of an outcome, rather than the end goal.

In fact, this focus becomes so strong that it begins overshadowing that which the trader intended or anticipated to achieve. It’s that excitement one feels about the possibility of achieving something rather than the actual outcome.

The problem with this though is that the feeling can become all-consuming, enough so to hinder taking actual steps to attain the goal. In other words, the act of doing becomes stalled, impeding potential profitable trading outcomes.

Minimising the effect of “tangibility of anticipation”

When thinking about a win becomes the addiction, rather than actively pursuing that win, it’s important to pause, regain perspective, and refocus on the practical steps needed to succeed.

This requires critical self-awareness and the willingness to adapt one’s behaviour. Essentially, the trader needs to come back to earth, and begin implementing tangible measures to achieve profitable gains.

There are many ways to do this.

For a start, building a trading strategy will help you establish strict parameters, a framework of sorts, by which to trade. Having proper steps in place that lay out how you will enter and exit trades, and why, will keep you more focused, consistent, and disciplined. You’ll be “doing”, rather than thinking about doing.

Secondly, consider accessing educational resources to widen your scope of knowledge, so that you understand how to make trading decisions based on actual data.

Complement this with information from global economic news announcements and events, so that you stay on top of current trends. Steer your focus away from thinking about opening a position to executing an actual trade based on what you’ve learned.

Remember, facts power informed trading decisions. This enables you to move away from merely anticipating outcomes to taking the steps to achieving them with a confidence that comes from knowledge.

Third, remember that mistakes are part of the trading journey. Rather than look at them as failures, use them as learning opportunities. Don’t allow them to keep you in a state of anticipation. Instead, use them as a way to mitigate future missteps.

Finally, remember that regardless of the aforesaid, unless you have set objectives to which you’re working towards, you’ll likely lose focus.

Establish what you want to attain, incorporate this in your trading plan, and give that your attention. After all, trading based on analysis and strategy rather than emotions will likely increase your potential for success.