Trading with a funded account, discipline is probably one of the main factors of success. All beginners might find it hard to have control over themselves in their very first trading experience especially if they are dealing with real money. You can think of discipline almost as a "habituated" kind of behavior that you do subconsciously. In this case, after being disciplined for some time you can be sure that all your trading decisions will be based on well-thought-out strategies rather than on instincts and feelings. Staying disciplined at the same time means that you will not over trade, will be able to limit your losses, and finally, you will become consistently profitable. To put it another way, even the best trading strategies can be ineffective in a funded account if the trader is undisciplined.
Developing a Trading Plan and Following it Religiously
Making a detailed trading plan and strictly following it is by far the most effective way of achieving discipline. Day trading for beginners can significantly benefit if they specify their entry and exit points, risk levels, and daily or weekly goals upfront. If a trader sticks to the plan like a "kelly fish", the chances of emotionally driven trades are significantly reduced and decisions are more considered than spontaneous. If in a funded account, one has to really follow the plan as is because the money is real and mistakes could cost dearly. Your trading plan is your guide and a plan well thought out is a definite recipe for discipline and consequently, success in the long haul.
Make Rules and Keep to Them
One more discipline technique that day trading beginners can adopt is to allow themselves a fixed loss and profit per day. A stop loss should be set for every trade and more importantly, the take-profit level should be predetermined as well. Traders who are able to keep these rules are not influenced by their emotions such as greed or fear. A funded account is a piece of professional equipment and an important thing it can teach one is to have such limits along with working hard at protecting the account. If one respects these boundaries on a daily basis one will gradually form such a good discipline that the trading would be consistent and planned rather than unplanned and emotional.
Keep a Record of All Your Trades
Recording all the trades in one's journal is the best and quite a simple way of practicing discipline for day trading beginners. A journal should be able to convey a full story of a trade from the trader's decision-making process through the market conditions to the results. Evaluating the journal from time to time will help the beginner spot the behavior patterns that led to mistakes and thus avoid them in the future. If consistent, journaling is one of the ways that a funded account holder is able to prove his/her accountability and in the meanwhile, it also reveals if discipline was maintained. Continual use of this instrument builds the trader's strength, and willingness to be disciplined at all times, hence the trader's success becomes more and more inevitable.
Summary
To sum up, being disciplined at all times is the number one key to success with a funded account especially if you are a beginner at day trading. Some of the ways include making and following a plan, setting strict limits, and keeping a pension that can instill rational and consistent decision-making. Discipline is a tool to make trading free of emotions, safe your capital, and at the same time, have more confidence in your strategies. When you have mastered these techniques, you will basically have transformed your way of day trading at the same time your funded account will be steadily growing with a guarantee that every trade will be a well-calculated one.
