Highly profitable traders are not born, they are made. They do not rely on pure luck to make consistent earnings but on their calculated moves when trading currency online.

To identify a top forex trader, these are some of the qualities you should look for:

1. Disciplined

Without discipline, none of the other qualities matter. It is possible for any trader to invest some money in a forex account, enter their very first trade and make a high profit and repeat the process and make profits for a short duration of time.

However, it is only a disciplined trader who will be able to consistently make profits over a long period of time.

A trader who lacks discipline will most likely wipe out his/her forex trading account in a very short time period.

2. Perseverance

We all at one point in life fail in our endeavors. When that happens, most of us give up but the best of us preserver and try again and again until they perfect their approach and succeed.

The best traders in the FX market did not get to the top easily by winning every trade.

Almost all of them lost big at one point, or even several times. But they fought on, learned more, and came back better.

3. Professional

Top traders are highly professional to their approach about the currency market. They do not treat the forex market as a gambling table or a hobby, but as a serious business.

They use proper risk management and money management techniques while at the same time recording all their transactions.

They use a carefully formulated trading strategy on each of their trades instead of simply going with gut feelings.

4. Unemotional

While all of us as human beings have emotions, top traders have over time trained themselves to approach their FX market trading devoid of the emotions that jeopardize our trades.

Emotions such as fear, greed, pride, and hope only end up sabotaging our clearly formulated forex trading strategies and make traders discard their market analysis results leading to losses.

A top trader will conduct accurate market analysis using market factors such as price data and then make trade decisions based on the analysis of the results.

5. Goal Setter

It is said that every journey begins with the first step. However, if you do not have a direction to follow and a destination to move towards, your steps may just take you in circles around the same spot.

Top notch forex traders identify their preferred destination by setting goals. These goals include short term goals that may span anywhere between a few minutes to a few weeks.

They also have middle term goals which may span a duration of between a few weeks to even a few years. A goal setting trader will also have long term goals that will typically be set to be accomplished within some years.

6. Passionate

The most successful foreign exchange traders have a deep love for what they do.

They wake up every morning with a drive that pushes them to learn all they can about the forex market, how it has been reacting lately, what factors have influenced it, and what price actions they are to expect in future.

With such a trader, you will find that the trader enjoys the trading and the profits are only secondary.

Once you attain such a passion for trading in the currency exchange market, you will find that your trades end in profits almost automatically without much thought or effort.

7. Personally Responsible

Most failures tend to blame everything and everyone else for their shortcomings.

A forex trader who never seems to take responsibility for his or her actions is doomed to fail since he/she will never learn from previous mistakes.

An irresponsible trader will blame the market, the broker, the central bank, the advisor, the charts, the trade signals, and even the rioting demonstrators in another country for his forex fails.

Such an attitude robs him/her of the opportunity for self-improvement.

8. Committed

It is sometimes not easy to stick to plans, especially when there is no one to supervise actions or monitor progress.

A top trader will not have to be pushed into sticking to plans. S/he will be committed to attaining the set goals and will constantly and consistently work towards achieving them.

The trader will wake up every day, go to their work station, do their analysis, manage their trade according to the set trading strategy, and faithfully record all trades.

Such unwavering commitment is what brings ultimate long term success.

9. Constant Self Improvement

A top forex trader does not give in to feelings of pride by thinking that they are now the best ever.

A good forex trader will always have the humility to accept that he or she still has something to learn. Thus, he/she will always seek out ways to improve their knowledge and trading capabilities.

10. Strategic Thinking

A top trader is mentally prepared to think things through and come up with a workable trading plan.

She or he will use clear methods to decide on a profitable currency pair to trade in, will develop a great trading plan to ensure the profitability of that chosen currency pair, and will choose trading timeframes and periods of high volatility for the currency pair when there are higher profits to take.

A low echelon trader will just put in trade without a pre-defined plan and trade whatever comes to mind without careful analysis.

11. Challenge Acceptance

Most people shy away from challenges that seem difficult or taxing. A top forex trader will see opportunity during those challenging moments and confront them head on.

S/he may make losses at first with the new challenge but eventually, due to discipline, perseverance, and self-improvement among other factors, the trader will eventually become successful in the challenge.

Summary

To be a top forex trader, you have to have the determination to face your weaknesses and work on improving on them.

Look for the following qualities within you and improve on the ones you already posses while striving to gain those that you may still lack.

Photo credit: 4xsystem