Timely Action ...
In the Bible's book of Ecclesiastes, Chapter 3, verse 1, David writes that "to every thing there is a season." Nowhere is this more true than in trading, where the smallest hesitation that prevents you from acting at just the right time can sap the strength out of a winning opportunity and spell the difference between success and failure.
Unfortunately, there's no easy way to discern when the time is right for action and when it's better to hold back from pulling the trigger in favor of more investigation, analysis, and contemplation of your options.
But there are some guidelines you can bear in mind as you try to wring all the unwanted hesitation out of your trading:
Don't Think Too Much: It's important to think through a trading opportunity and draw an actionable conclusion on a timely basis.
But when you find yourself thinking and then rethinking the same facts, reevaluating the same options, and redrawing the same conclusions more than once or twice, you're probably overthinking the situation and hesitating when you should be trading.
Don't Spend More Time Than It's Worth: Many unsuccessful traders spending hours and hours of their valuable time thinking about whether or not to open a test-size trade that risks - at most - a few hundred dollars. That's not a good use of your time. On smaller trades, it's almost better simply to open a position and watch what it does - gathering empirical evidence and giving yourself a gut-level "feel" for the market.
Don't Dwell On Mistakes: Emotionally, you can cause problems for yourself in the future if you allow yourself to dwell on mistakes you've made in the past. By all means, learn what you can from your errors. Certainly you should never forget what your experience has taught you. But if your errors morph into living nightmares, they'll cripple your ability to make trading decisions effectively - and quickly - as future opportunities present themselves.
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