Please get rid of multi-screen display, the transaction needs to return to “Minimalism”

There have been major changes in my life. I sold a luxury house in Queensland, Australia, and rented a house with my family. Our plan is to settle all assets and debts and then live the life we really like. My wife and I are both young, and, as a professional trader and tutor, I am fully capable of maintaining a freer life. We want to try a simple self-driving tour for a while.

Of course, this casual lifestyle is not for everyone. What I want to say is that human beings are too accustomed to living in groups, and they are becoming more and more materialized. Houses and cars fill up life. So, I decided, that's all for now!

Text / Nial Fuller, Professional Trader, Winner of Million Dollar Trading Contest

I started throwing away all unnecessary things in life. In fact, there are a lot of things I don't need at all, and they are making me feel stressed. I have several cars, but I rarely drive. I have a house, but it's too big and doesn't make me happier. Too many things occupy my life and thoughts. My goal is to bring a suitcase, a laptop, and my favorite book.

The reason for sharing this is because I believe that most people can benefit from a simple lifestyle. What they have to do is to remove miscellaneous things, settle assets, pay off debts, and so on. Everyone's needs may be different, but if you only keep what you need most, I believe it will definitely save you time, money and reduce stress.

What does this have to do with trading?

In fact, the above is a kind of "minimalism", which can also be used in transactions. "Minimalism" is becoming a belief. "Minimalism" in trading includes removing bad emotional interference. I advocate simplicity in my life, and still do so in forex trading.

Forget the inherent notions of professional traders

The first step to becoming a “minimalist” trader is to eradicate the inherent concepts of professional traders, such as comfortable offices, wood-carved tables and chairs, a large row of monitors, and state-of-the-art trading software. Minimalistic traders need only a laptop, plus free trading software and an effective forex trading strategy. 

Many people are attracted to forex market because of their inherent conception of "professional traders". However, forex transactions can be ubiquitous. You can also carry on a forex transaction in a coffee shop with a laptop.

If you are still learning how to trade, or are confused about how to trade successfully, the first thing to do is to remove all the extra stuff. You don't need to force yourself to build a very good office and buy a lot of equipment. If you can only succeed in this way, then you can give it a try. However, many top traders actually use a laptop only. 

I used to decorate a large comfortable office with several monitors on the table, but many times I still traded on my iPhone. Later, I realized that these gears just seem to have a style more often, and the "style" is higher, because it can greatly satisfy my vanity, but their negative effect is greater in the transaction.

Reduce the number of things in the chart and optimize trading results

As a trading tutor, I have been advocating "minimalist" trading methods for a long time. Every trader initially has a period of constant trial and error, and slowly they will realize that failure is actually due to their bad trading habits, and not always a problem with the trading method or system. For example, the root cause of most traders' losses is actually emotional interference. 

In addition, your chart contains too much "junk" information, which is a major cause of problems in your trading, but this is easily overlooked. Materialistic psychology makes people feel that the more they buy, the more satisfied they are. This is actually a kind of defect psychology. The materialized psychology in trading is manifested in the use of more technical indicators and analysis tools, as if this can make yourself a better trader. "Less is more" is a theory that applies to all aspects of life. With less material requirements, my stress is reduced, my account balance has increased, and the time I spend with my family has increased, and my mentality is more peaceful. 

I always think that the problems of the traders themselves are the main reason for the losses. However, most traders will naturally blame their trading systems and strategies for not being good enough, so they constantly look for the best trading methods, add new technical indicators, and so on, as if more things have created a sense of security. And usually they will be disappointed again soon. Because more doesn't mean better!

How to integrate "minimalism" into trading and life 

▪ Delete forex indicators and trading robots (EAs) and start with a brand new, concise price chart. This alone can help you be calmer when analyzing the market.

▪ Learn simple price fluctuation strategies. After deprecating price indicators, you need to learn how to trade directly based on market price fluctuations. It may be a bit difficult at the beginning, but I'm sure you will slowly discover that this can bring you more progress than before.

▪ After you learn to trade based on price fluctuations, you need to understand that trading does not require a lot of time each day to analyze the market, or even as a part-time job.

▪ Don't try to analyze more than 20 different markets every day. Reducing assets you trade in can greatly keep you focused and help you trade better. I have only traded major foreign exchange currency pairs, as well as a few other markets, such as crude oil and gold.

▪ No need for the large office mentioned above, or several displays. If you don't care about these investments, then feel free to. I can afford these things, but I don't think they are necessary.

▪ One more thing I did was apply for a dedicated mailbox. This is really a small thing, but it saves a lot of time and energy. I'll get the letters once a week. This is also one of my "minimalist" approaches.

▪ Keep the trading room and desktop clean, with as few things as possible. No matter where you trade, try to keep things around you as small as possible. For example, you have 50 trading books, but you only need to carry 3 of your favorite books with you.

Conclusion

Everyone likes to collect things, including assets, items, and so on. Many people have been promoted at work, but they have spent more money, and they are stuck in a cycle of consumerism and materialism. I want to say that you can choose a different life. You don't have to be a slave to debt, and you don't have to struggle to keep up with the people around you. It is enough to arrange the pace of life that suits you best.

"Minimalism" taught me a truth. It is not necessarily material that can bring you satisfaction, and it is not necessarily a large number of indicators and trading equipment that make you successful in trading. Reading economic data, learning indicators, automated trading, etc. are always considered important factors for successful trading, but most traders still fail.

From now on, try to change and believe that your trading results will be unexpected.