Self-awareness

Why self-awareness is essential to your success

Many traders say they can’t overstress the importance of understanding market behaviour – but are insights into how traders react to the markets just as valuable? We examine how being self-aware can help improve your trading performance.

Self-awareness is the starting point of achieving any goal. No matter your field, it is important to understand how you behave and why you make certain decisions. High levels of self-awareness help you adapt in the moment, which is crucial to performing at your peak. Whether you’re a player identifying a gap between defenders, or a trader finding the next market opportunity, making informed decisions in real-time is what ultimately leads to success.

But everyone makes mistakes at some point. A pass that sails over your teammate’s head, a reactionary trade that doesn’t go your way. As Saracens Academy Manager, Mike Hynard points out, “It’s only through learning how those behaviours or choices impacted [your] performance that you learn to be a better athlete.”

Data tells us the key to recovering from these setbacks: analysing your own performance. Saracen coaches actively use data analytics to help players gain a deeper understanding of how they perform – highlighting personal attributes to lean into and identifying areas in which they need to develop their game.

Being a self-aware trader

Traders can analyse themselves in the same way. “Taking time to reflect on your strengths and weaknesses is a huge importance in the trading journey,” agrees Giles Watts, our SVP & Regional Business Director, UK & EU. The reason why is simple: if you don’t identify your flaws, you will unwittingly repeat the same mistakes.

Let’s use an example. You might be a trader who sells winning trades too soon. With our Performance Analytics tool, you can review your time spent on winning trades compared to losing trades, and then plan to improve this rate by setting new targets in your trading plan.

Alternatively, perhaps you haven’t yet worked out your strengths and weaknesses. Our tool will analyse your past trades and inform whether you have a trading edge or an area of improvement, so you can adjust your strategy as you see fit. As noted by Ann Hunt, CEO, Chasing Returns, “You just need the awareness.” She explains that the tool allows traders to “put a number on a bad habit, which really helps traders to improve.”

Improving your trading performance partly lies in underlying factors – how timing may affect your approach or how often you choose certain markets. Our tool features Timing Edges to help you break down your performance by timeframes, such as what time of day you most often place successful trades. By using these built-in features, among others, you can develop a more effective and disciplined trading strategy.

That means tracking the metrics on your trades in real-time, or setting reminders to protect yourself from emotional trades. It may even involve you rediscovering markets that you’ve successfully traded in the past. With our tool, you can peek into the psychology behind your performance – and help yourself succeed. Ready to become more self-aware and improve the way you trade? Get started by clicking the button below.