Whenever you go on social media or even read a book on trading, you’ll hear all kinds of different opinions on which timeframe you should trade. I saw a ton of people claim that you can’t be trading lower timeframes and be profitable.
But the truth is, those are just subjective opinions.
Trading is highly subjective
One thing I barely hear anyone talk about in the trading space, is that trading is highly subjective.
Just because trader A is not profitable trading lower timeframes, doesn’t mean trader B can’t be profitable trading lower timeframes. Most things you hear about trading are opinions based on personal experience.
Every trader is different.
Almost every time I open Twitter/X there is someone who claims that profitably trading the 1 minute chart or lower is impossible, as if it was a fact.
Too much noise, too much movement, way too fast.
But when I was a couple months into trading and decided to try the one minute chart, I realized that trading this timeframe comes easier to me than trading higher timeframes.
Why?
Because I don’t have the time to overthink. I have to execute fast.
Different personal traits and characteristics of yours play a big role in what timeframe will work best for you.
Swing trading vs day trading
I for example read a book once (I don’t remember which one it was), which claimed that swing trading is the way to go because day trading has too much noise and is way more stressful than swing trading.
And that might be true for most traders, but my subjective experience is completely different.
To me, swing trading would be far more stressful than day trading.
I need to watch my trade play out from start to finish.
Luckily, with day trading it doesn’t take that long for a trade to play out. Worst case scenario, I would be in a trade for 2-3 hours. But the majority of the time, a trade is done in minutes.
A few minutes of possible stress is better to me than days, weeks or even months of stress due to holding a swing position.
- losing sleep because I need to monitor my position
- not being able to live my life normally because I am constantly checking the charts
And this isn’t exclusive to me.
So even if the majority agrees on something, you might be a part of a minority. Trust your own subjective experience. As a trader that is essential.
Proof that trading is highly subjective
As an ICT trader especially, you can go on Twitter/X, YouTube or Instagram and see that a bunch of people took an almost identical trade as you.
When they explain why they took that position though, the reasoning is often completely different.
Everyone reads the market in their own way, which can still lead to the same conclusion.
You’re not wrong just because your reasoning is different from someone else’s. The most important part is your own profitability, which comes from doing what works FOR YOU.
So:
- make your own observations
- trust your own data and experience
- and come to your own conclusions
In the end, it’s just you and the markets.
Once you find a timeframe/trading style that suits you – execution becomes the most prominent factor. And execution is tied to psychology.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.
