Whenever a trader or investor sees his money grow and has made a good return to sell the position and take his profit, the question arises: how much is enough?
It is natural to feel excitement about the possibility of making more profit when the operation goes well, and this is the most common obstacle when closing the position.
However, it is in our human nature to enjoy it so much that it makes us want that good “streak” to last forever and this is where greed clouds all kinds of common sense, the one that warns us that the situation of winning will not last indefinitely
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At this time it is ESSENTIAL to follow the rules of the trading plan: if your system or strategy indicates that it is time to close the operation and collect your benefits, do not continue to wait just for the illusion of earning even more money.
If you are fooled by greed you will believe that you will continue to earn a little more time and then a little more, and so on.
This attitude will only cause the profits you had made to disappear.
Greed is an excessive ambition, it is wanting more and more and more, and always more and more.
Greed is self-destructive, and if you are learning trading it is because you have the healthy ambition to improve your quality of life and your financial situation and that of your family.
Therefore, falling into greed only destroys you and yours.
This is why many professional traders, when they have a good streak, stop trading (for example, that they have won 5 trades in a row or more, the number is up to you, it is just an example) so that greed does not invade them or because
they already realize that they are becoming greedy and they know that the best thing is to stop.
They know that if they fall into it they will risk more money than usual, they will over-operate, or they will skip some rules, and the dire consequences that this brings.
Many times greed is generated by having "left money on the table" and their respective pain of guilt and repentance.
This happens when you are in an operation that is going well, and there comes a time when you notice enough reasons to exit it (for example, a very strong resistance if you are up) and you close it.
Then you see that the price continues to rise but it is too late to re-enter and you had already left.
This causes bitterness, guilt and repentance many times, which later, in similar future situations, can become greed for the fear of “leaving money on the table”.
However, the good news is that it is a pain that you learn to overcome easily when you learn to close an operation and not keep looking at what happened next, or even when the operation is closed, you close your computer.
The question that should matter to us is how to control greed?
To control greed and not get carried away by it we must always know when it is enough, taking the profits from an operation and then look for new opportunities, without looking at how much more we could have earned.
You must set this before entering: analyze where your target profit would be and liquidate the position when it reaches that level.
Therefore, it is very common to use target when entering an operation.
Although it is true that it can move, it makes you less greedy since by visualizing it you realize that it is likely that the price will not go much MORE, therefore it leaves you in sight that the profit will not be extremely large.
In addition, by knowing in advance where to take profits thanks to your strategy and analysis, it prevents you from staying longer than is desirable, and therefore from taking unnecessary risks.
There is a very common phrase that says "target is target" and it is ideal to remember it when you close a trade with profit, and then go in search of other opportunities without getting stressed seeing how much more you could have earned.
Professionals focus on the next operation, and try to forget about the closed one, whether it was a good or bad result.
In addition, they focus on doing good operations, and as a consequence the money will come.
