Many beginners, when they first get into trading, react by wanting to learn candlestick patterns, indicators, and various strategies. This is not wrong. However, if you do not do some preparatory work before truly learning, you will often take many detours. Preparatory work is like laying a foundation before building a house; it may seem time-consuming but can determine whether you can build a tall building later. Why emphasize this point? Because I have seen too many students rush in with enthusiasm but are soon hit by reality, such as not having time, not having funds, or even lacking the right mindset to learn. Preparing for the technical aspects of learning is not just a matter of casual effort; it requires long-term persistence. By preparing these conditions, you can not only avoid taking detours but also learn faster and more steadily. Below, I will share the key preparatory work. The last point is particularly important.
First, you must have some capital. Because the ultimate application of our learning of technical analysis is trading. If you have no capital at all, it will only remain a theoretical exercise, and you will feel a significant lack of motivation and lack real market experience. This capital is not meant for you to prepare a lot of money for a full investment right from the start; rather, it is recommended to prepare some spare money that does not affect your living. This way, even if you pay tuition in the early stages, it will not have a devastating impact on your family and mindset. More importantly, do not think that by only putting in 100 or 1,000 yuan, you can expect it to multiply by 1,000 or 10,000 times. This is wishful thinking. Such things will not happen to you.
The second point is to gain the support of your family. This is very realistic, but many people do not understand it deeply. The pressure on the trading path is immense. If the people closest to you do not understand and think you are not serious or gambling, it will create enormous psychological pressure, which can directly lead to distorted operations, such as rushing to make money to prove yourself to family, resulting in heavy losses. Therefore, before you formally start learning, you should sincerely communicate with them and clearly explain your plans. For example, you should tell them that you are systematically learning a skill that will benefit you for life and can be monetized directly. You can also say, "Honey, I hope to spend half a year learning systematically." My goal is to not exceed a 50% loss of capital and to ensure that it does not affect my normal work and family life. You can make more specific commitments, such as that the money you invest is strictly controlled. If I lose this spare money within six months, I guarantee that I will not bring it up again for the next five years, and so on. In short, be sincere and gain their support, and your trading career will be much smoother. This is also the responsible attitude that adults should have.
The third point is to have a capable computer and a quiet environment. Do not think that because mobile phones and tablets are convenient, you can skip preparing a computer. Many software, review tools, and drawing tools require computer operation. To do a good job, you must first have good tools. But don’t get me wrong; I'm not saying you need to spend a lot of money. You don’t need to prepare a top-spec gaming laptop, but at least you should have a computer that can run trading software smoothly and switch between multiple windows. It is your tool for learning. A computer that lags while checking market conditions will cause you to miss the best opportunities. Of course, both desktops and laptops are fine. If possible, it’s best to prepare two monitors so that your analysis and operations do not interfere with each other.
The fourth point is to allocate sufficient learning time. Do not believe in nonsense about making big money easily with just five minutes a day. Technical analysis is a skill that requires a lot of practice and review. It is best to set aside one to two hours of learning time each day or a full day on weekends for review. Insufficient learning time is like a pianist practicing only five minutes a day; it is impossible to make real progress. You should also be prepared to invest at least 3 to 6 months, or even longer, to build a solid foundation. If you lack this patience, I suggest you don't start at all, because technical analysis is not something that can be achieved overnight. Its system is very complete, and the content is vast. Learning a little from here and there makes it hard to build a complete framework.
The fifth point is to find a reliable learning path. The information available in the market is too fragmented, and many people end up not knowing what they are learning. Therefore, you need to clarify from the start: first build a foundation, then gradually advance, so that you can form a closed learning loop from basic to advanced, rather than blindly learning everywhere.
The sixth point is to set goals and deadlines for yourself. Without goals, it is easy to learn randomly and eventually give up without achieving anything. What we talked about earlier was the promise to family members. For example, you can set a goal of giving yourself six months. I hope to complete the basic course in these six months and be able to independently understand charts and learn to read them. Additionally, my capital should not exceed 50% during these six months, and then I can try small positions in real trading after a year, etc. With a goal, you will have direction.
The seventh and final point is about mindset and expectation management. Why do I say this is the most important? Because technical analysis is not a money-printing machine; it is a survival manual of probabilities and risks. Before you invest every penny, you must prepare two things. The first is a mindset that can afford to lose money. The capital you use for learning must be money that you can afford to lose completely without affecting your normal life or sleep. Only with spare money can you maintain a stable mindset and make rational judgments. The second thing is a reasonable expectation of stable profits, abandoning the fantasy of getting rich overnight. Trading is not about who makes the most money; it’s about who survives the longest. Our goal is to achieve a long-term stable compound interest expectation by learning, starting with small losses, then occasionally making big profits. If you manage it poorly, you will chase after highs and lows in anxiety, and no amount of technical learning will help. You must accept the reality that there will be losses in the early stages, accept the need for long-term practice, and accept that financial freedom cannot be achieved immediately. Once your mindset is ready, learning will not be abandoned halfway. One thing I often say is to understand that in the trading market, stop-loss is the norm, and missing opportunities is also the norm. Only by accepting these two points will taking profits become your norm.
