Trading is a constant reminder of my shortcomings, as well as bringing self-awareness to all aspects of my life.
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Today was one of those trading sessions that reminds me just how challenging—yet humbling—this trading journey can be. I lost control early in the day, failing to trade my plan, abandoning my system, and neglecting the discipline I’ve been working hard to cultivate.
Over the last two years, I’ve completely restructured my life to pursue trading full-time. As a father of three and a husband of nine years, this transition has been no small feat. I live in Arizona, which straddles Pacific and Mountain Standard Time throughout the year. To make sure I’m fully prepared for the pre-market and the market’s open, I wake up at 3:45 AM every day. My routine starts at the gym, where I work out, get ready, and set my focus before sitting down at my computer.
I’ve built my life around maximizing my potential as a trader. Every day, I commit to implementing the disciplines I know are critical for success. Yet, today, I threw all of that out the window. I made trades I knew I shouldn’t have, spiraled into overtrading, and found myself caught in an endless loop of impulsive decisions.
I can’t even explain what I was doing or why. Was I trying to prove something to myself? Was I hoping for a lucky break to claw back my losses? In the simplest of terms, I was flailing, hoping to dig myself out of a hole that only got deeper with every trade.
At one point, I was briefly up $500—if only for two or three minutes. But that came and went like the wind.
Looking back, I can see how this spiral unfolded. I could have stopped at break-even, called it a flat day, and walked away. Instead, I found myself in a battle to “defeat” the market. And the market handed me a painful—but necessary—lesson.
Ignoring Intuition and Chasing the Market
Yesterday was a solid day-markets were bullish, and opportunities were abundant. Today was a completely different story. The moment the session started, I could tell it wasn’t going to be a repeat of yesterday. We were in for a red day, and with choppy market conditions. Still, I ignored my gut feeling and traded with one goal: to make money, no matter what.
It’s clear that approach doesn’t work. Trading isn’t about forcing outcomes. It’s about recognizing when the conditions align with your strategy-and when they don’t.
The Importance of a Plan
Today served as a painful reminder that trading without a plan is like trying to navigate a storm without a compass. Without a clear strategy, I was lost reacting to the market instead of responding to it with a clear intention of what my objective was.
Note to self:
- Always have a plan and a strategy.
- Approach the market with a clear mind and clear intentions.
- If you’re not in the right mindset, it’s better to lock yourself out of the trading screen and try again tomorrow.
Just as the sun will rise tomorrow, the markets will be open Monday thru Friday. With patience, the right setups will come, and the opportunities will present themselves.
Inaction is Action in Trading
In most areas of life, success comes from action, from being productively busy. But in trading, success often comes from inaction-waiting, observing, and exercising patience. Some of the best trading days are the ones where you only press one or two buttons.
That’s the paradox of trading: doing less can lead to more. Today, if I had simply sat on my hands, I would have avoided the choppy market that chewed up my trades and stopped me out time and time again. With patience, I might have spotted a breakout pattern to the downside, aligning with the market’s direction instead of fighting against it.
A Deeper Reflection
Beyond the technical mistakes, today raised deeper questions for me:
- What causes me to “black-out” and trade against my better judgement?
- Why do I deviate from a system I know works when followed?
- Is there a part of me that fears success?
- Could this self-sabotage be rooted in past experiences, like my struggles with addiction?
These are the tough questions, I need to further explore and really drill down. As ever new layer, I pull away, the more true and authentic I become. Trading is as much a journey of sel-discovery as it is a financial pursuit. It’s about understanding your own triggers, weaknesses, and tendencies-and using that understanding to grow.
Moving Forward
I’m committed to learning from today. The markets are a practice ground, and every mistake is an opportunity to refine my approach. For the rest of the day, I’ll focus on backtesting past market conditions, refining my strategy, and diving into the questions I listed above.
Trading is a constant self-evaluation. Some days you win, some days you lose, and some days the market reminds you to slow down and listen.
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