There’s a lot of cynicism about New Year’s Resolutions and for good reason. While you may proclaim 2016 to be the year of diet, fitness, and less TV, Kale doesn’t taste better than ice cream, exercise really does require getting off the couch, and you won’t be able to converse with your friends if you haven’t watched Making a Murder on Netflix.

Same story when it comes to trading. It isn’t easy to rid yourself of long-held habits and systems. However, it may not require a complete paradigm shift to change your trading behavior. Often it takes only minor adjustments to improve your results.

Here are 7 ways you can tip the trading scale in your favor.

1. Quit looking for the smoking gun 

100% winners with our secret system. Make $100,000 in 10 days using this newly undiscovered trading indicator. There’s plenty of less than reputable trading firms making less than truthful claims. Stop looking for the unicorn trading system and start focusing on a legitimate solution. You’ll be much better off.

2. Consume More Oil and Gas  

You don’t have to be Al Gore to recognize that this resolution would be reckless if taken literally. Traders should be consuming more oil and gas trades. Why? Because these are liquid, trending markets (down recently) with plenty of opportunities. Don’t try to force trades in sideways equity markets. Expanding your trading arena to include futures can dramatically improve your returns. Watch this video and see how VantagePoint forecasted major trending moves in the gold and crude oil market.

3. Get out of your Comfort Zone 

When it comes to traditional New Year’s resolutions, experts will tell you to be successful you need to look at the big picture. Same holds true for trading. When you look at a single stock or asset class in isolation you fail to account for the big macro picture. By having “blinders” on you are setting yourself up for failure.

4. Put it on Paper

According to a study by Stanford University, [bctt tweet=”writing down a goal can increase the probability of achieving it by over 70%.” username=”markettech”] Yes, you may have a trading plan that you “mentally” rely on, but writing it down may be the impetus you need to stick with it this year.

When you write down your rules everything changes. Instead of hoping that the market is going to do what you want, or wondering if you should hold on a bit longer, you rely on your rules to tell you what to do.

5. Realize that Losing doesn’t make you a Loser

We’re all fallible in every aspect of our lives. You need to remember that losses are a part of trading. Every trader will have some losses. In fact, many successful traders have many more losing trades than winning trades. They are still able to make money because their winning trades are considerably larger than their losing ones. You must think of your losses as part of the expense of doing business as a trader.  

6. Get Shorty

If you fail to learn how to utilize short trading strategies, then you have cut yourself out of many profitable trades. Many people think that shorting is un-American or too risky. However, the market is a two-way street, and the person who doesn’t short is missing a part of the game.

7. Remove the Clutter

Do you subscribe to 12 different trading newsletters that recommend everything from penny stocks to super complicated options strategies? Does your brokerage platform have 40 technical indicators flashing on your screen?

Too much really can be too much when it comes to trading. Paring down your trading tools so you only use what is necessary can improve your results. Plus, these tools need not be overly complex. Find a system that has a proven track record and is simple to use.

Unlike dogs, old traders really can learn new tricks. It’s never too late to stop losing, start protecting and growing your money. VantagePoint has been helping traders turn consistent profits since 1991. The software uses patented, predictive technologies and a neural network process to forecast markets with up to 87.4% accuracy. While extremely sophisticated under the hood, from a user’s perspective VantagePoint is incredibly easy to use and can absolutely help tip the trading scale in your favor.