In the world of trading, retail traders like you and I are constantly on the lookout for ways to improve our edge, better ourselves, and level up our trading.
We’re constantly back testing and forward testing our strategies, going over past data and reviewing our chart markups of both winners and losers to spot areas in which we can improve.
Sometimes, we even look to expand our strategy by implementing bits and pieces of proven methods to enhance our edge.
While all these things do work and help with our development as traders, there’s one thing that I’ve personally found to be extremely valuable and sometimes overlooked.
That something, is an accountability partner or group.
In this post, I’m going to highlight 3 reasons why I believe that an accountability partner or group is so valuable to leveling up your trading.
What Is An Accountability Partner Or Group
For those who aren’t familiar with accountability partners or groups, quite simply, they’re exactly what they sound like.
It’s one person or a group of individuals that you could trust to hold you accountable to your actions both on and off the charts.
This person or group of individuals aid in helping you make the right decisions as well as help you correct any mistakes that you may have made or are about to make.
Let’s take a look at a few ways that an accountability partner or group can help level up your trading.
They’re Able To Point Out Your Mistakes When You’re Too Stubborn
To Admit To Them
Let’s be honest here. I’m sure that most of you, including me are guilty of not admitting when we’re wrong.
As humans, our psyche is programmed to always want to be correct.
So even when we’re wrong, we have a hard time admitting it.
A particular trading example of this would be, moving your stop losses from their original position.
A stop loss is there to take us out of a trade when we’re wrong but yet, a lot of traders end up moving them, risking a bigger loss than initially anticipated because they’re hell bent on being correct.
This is where having an accountability partner or group can help.
The individual(s) can keep you in check and follow up with you on your trade.
If they know your trade, targets and stop losses, they’ll be able to monitor the trade with you.
When the trade doesn’t go your way and hits your stop level, they can follow up and ask if you’re out of the trade.
If you respond and say “No”, then you can expect them to question you and take measures to make sure that you don’t repeat that same mistake.
It’s tough love, and it’s the reason you have an accountability partner or group in the first place.
They Can Highlight Details That
You Might Have Missed
When doing technical analysis on our trade setups, it’s possible to overlook a few details.
It’s helpful to have an extra set of eyes to look over your analysis.
An accountability partner or group can offer you their opinion as well as possibly point out a few details that you might have missed.
Also, there are times when we get so attached to our bias that we refuse to look on the other side of the page.
Having another person’s opinion can help open your mind to other possible outcomes as opposed to being married to the one that you solely built.
Rome wasn’t built in a day, and it sure wasn’t built by one person.
They Make Trading Less Lonely
Trading is a lonely profession especially if you’re a retail trader who trades from home.
We spend hours glued to our computer monitors with headphones in and the door to the outside world shut.
Sometimes we go hours before making any type of verbal communication with another human being.
Me personally, I start trading around 3:00 AM EST.
At this time, it’s still dark outside and my family is still asleep. Most days, I don’t physically interact with anybody until around 8:00 AM.
This makes for quite a lonely morning for anybody.
Having even one person to talk to can help alleviate the feeling of loneliness.
For me, I interact with the ASFX VIP Group which consists of hundreds of members from all around the world.
They make trading less lonely since I’m able to communicate, exchange trade ideas and joke around with like-minded individuals.
We’re social creatures, and we all need some form of social interaction every now and then.
Closing Remarks
There are a multitude of ways to level up your trading.
But in my opinion, the most underrated method is an accountability partner or group.
If you feel like you’ve somewhat exhausted ways to level up or are feeling stagnant in your trading growth, I strongly suggest pairing up with at least one other trader.
Get involved with a group, ask for accountability, and invite your trader friends.
You’ll be surprised at how much you’ll grow as a trader.