The link between our reality today and our goals for tomorrow is motivation. Motivating ourselves to do what needs to be done and to stick to a realistic timeframe for completion of these goals is the main ingredient in a successful venture. Often we have wants, desires, and dreams but lack the motivation to get down to the nitty gritty in order to turn our desires into tomorrow's reality. There are no shortcuts, just determined effort and basic hard work.



Setting goals can increase our level of motivation. Goals can help us create our own personal milestones that help us grab the daily bread, so to speak, and get our hands dirty with effort. When we set a goal, or a series of goals, we should be mindful to make them realistically doable, keep them on task and targeted, and use their completion as a yardstick in which to measure our progress and success.

Setting goals that are unreachable can be highly counter productive. After all, if we can't enjoy the process of checking something off of our list or closing the page on a chapter we've completed, we just run ourselves into the ground with repeated effort and no enjoyment. Eventually, the inability to reach even one milestone creates dissention, and the average individual gives up and moves on.

Perhaps you are on the other side of the tracks and you like to set goals that are so reachable that your day is done in ten minutes. It feels good to check off our daily tasks and wind up with free time. Of course, we can make our goals so attainable that we are no longer moving forward with any real momentum. Often, we know this and are feeling the void of a true accomplishment when we set goals that are too easily reached.

Striking a balance between the two, finding which time frames motivate you the best might take a little trial and error. If you need ten little goals in order to reach the first big goal just so you can check them off your list, so be it. Just be aware that the first ten are micro goals and that your day is not complete until you reach the end game.

Using goals to motivate your successful trading days is done in the same manner that you reach other goals in life. First and foremost, write them down. If you have to, write them down every morning and check things off as you accomplish the tasks that reach the goals. Creating realistic and reachable daily goals is the ladder you build toward your monthly goal. When trading, you want to make sure you aren't trying to live out a fantasy, such as turning chump change into the "big win."

It is a proven fact that adults, teens, and children alike learn new skills better when the pressure applied to the task is moderated. For you, learning to trade and learning skills that will turn you into the top notch day trader you are looking to become, moderate pressure doesn't mean trying to live up to the expectations of big wins and dream trades. Small trades learned over time will allow you to evaluate your progress without the threat of financial ruin. No one can perform well all the time under that sort of pressure.

Keep a realistic view of day trading, and don't expect to be rolling in big trades with huge profits in just a few months, no matter what any introductory course may try to sell you on. Long term seasoned and well planned trades lead to financial success. Short term boost trades lead to a little extra spending cash on occasion, but not an overall freedom of financial wealth. By maintaining your education goals, your trading goals, and your ability to trade in moderation while you learn the ropes, you can eventually succeed into the land of financial freedom. Of course, this takes time, practice, and an honest assessment of your trading skill set.