How to Avoid the “Get Rich Quick” Trading Mindset

When most individuals are first exposed to trading, they are captivated by the potential to earn money quickly. Social media is inundated with stories about turning a small account into thousands of dollars in just a matter of weeks. It sounds thrilling and enticing, and it makes the market seam like an avenue to wealth. 

At best, the "get rich quick" mentality is one of the quickest ways to find yourself resulting in rapid failure in trading. It can lead to erratic behavior, unwarranted risks, and emotional fatigue. If you wish to remain in this game, you must replace your fantasies of quick riches with a slow-but-steady, long-term mindset.

Why So Many Traders Get Sucked In

The current trading environment Ð in many ways Ð promotes impatience. The majority of brokers entice you with big leverage, influencers post images of wins, and Youtube videos present "secret strategies" that will make you overnight success. It creates the idea that trading is a lottery ticket and not a business.

On top of it all, human nature certainly doesn't help. We are hardwired to want things quickly rather than in months. Which is why so many traders jump in to try to double accounts - and fail. As you can imagine, the failure is in expectations, leaving many frustrated, and with a blown-up account.

The True Cost of Fast Profits

At first, it isnÆt so bad to take risks. It can feel exciting. In fact, one trade could make you feel confident that you have indeed figured it out. But eventually, the market will humiliate everyone – it might be easier at at first if you do have risk control, and if you do happen to lose a trade, or miss an opportunity, you can lose everything you have gained in a matter of a few minutes. 

And that financial damage is only part of the story; the emotional toll is an equally dangerous outcome.Overexposed traders experience constant anxiety, can’t stop staring at the screen with every market tick, and their ability to think clearly is very limited. Rather than trading to a plan, they respond to fear in their mindset, or they respond based on their greed. That is not trading! It is gambling.

A Story of Two Traders

Let us consider two university traders, both starting with 2000 dollars.

Trader A bets 30% of his account on each trade and wants to double his money quickly. As he picks up a few winning trades, his account balance skyrockets.  In the blink of an eye, however, one unexpected market movement takes half of his account and forces so much stress that he chases losses until he has little left in his account.

Trader B chooses a different path. She bets only 2% per trade and focuses on slow and steady growth. Progress is not the fastest, but losses are controlled and consistently managed. A year later, she has a bit more in her account, more experience, and the confidence of surviving the mental rollercoaster.

The main difference is not luck or intelligence; it is the mindset.

Modify Mindset to a Longer Term Reality

The very lack of ability to escape the "get rich quick" mentality requires a fundamental change in how you think about trading.  Instead of thinking about the next "big win," start to think about the next 100 trades. When an outcome is a profitable one, the successful trader will not judge based on one outcome, they will judge their trading skills based on outcomes over time.

One good way to frame this is to think about trading like a farmer. You do not plant your seeds today and expect fruit tomorrow. You enrich the soil, you water and you wait.Discipline and regulated trading habits gives the same feeling as going nowhere fast, but over time will produce real, beneficial, and sustainable results. 

Practical Steps to Remain Grounded

Don't make this process more complicated than it has to be; a couple of small habits that will allow you to take it one step at a time, thereby avoiding the "get rich quick" speed race.

Set realistic targets. Aim for somewhere around 3% to 5% growth each month instead of doubling your account each month. It is much more sustainable.

Keep your risk small. Make each trade risk 1% to 2% of your account so that you can prevent making emotional decisions, losses of capital, or poor position sizing and momentum.

Track Your Progress. Keep a trading journal. Focus on how to optimize your process and don't focus on the results.

While none of these steps are glamorous, these are foundational building blocks for future success.

The Power of Patience

Here is the paradox of patience: traders who stop racing to get quick money tend to make more money on the back end. In the beginning, they are preserving capital and establishing that consistent mindset for a return until they obtain the experience to develop their skill and capitalize on compounding returns.

Patience does more than reduce stress and anxiety. Patience provides you with freedom. When you become less fixated on the outcome of the trade, is when you can take a clear rational approach to your decision process. Successful traders approach trading with this mindset on a repeatable basis, while burned out traders do not.

A Mindset About Growth

The allure of a "get rich quick" mentality is an easy trap to fall into if you understand all the meanings of trading other than chasing a jackpot, like discipline, risk management, patience, and process. If you can find a way to appreciate and embrace how to be a slow-goal on success, you will have given yourself the best opportunity for success.

Keep in mind that trading is not a sprint, trading is more like a marathon; discipline yourself to protect your capital and over time, the results will come.

If you seek to continue to build on your trading mindset, please be sure to visit the Learn section of the Wikilix site. You will not be sorry to learn about smarter safer trading with a long term nature on how to actually be successful for real!