I just got off the phone with my friend and one-time mentor. He had a terrible week full of poor trading mistakes and emotionally driven f*ck ups. I know this is someone who is very process-driven and honest to himself. He didn’t…blame anyone but himself!
He reflects that his week started poorly because of a lack of sleep, family commitments, external pressure, and a motivation to end the working week early due to these factors, among other things. This reminds me of four things;
1) Everyone has a bad run, even the greats. The cause tends to be a desire to achieve a market-dependent outcome(financial, lifestyle, time-saving). Sometimes these desires are unconscious and hard to spot.
To repeat some cliches, to day trade, we must be outcome agnostic and accept whatever happens; we can not control the auction-this force of nature. Our job is to better prepare for the next opportunity and execute consistently. After that, it’s in the lap of the gods. If we desire an outcome, the opposite tends to happen. The auction process is a beast and doesn’t give a shit if you want to finish early, pay your bills or drive a Rarri.
2) Bad days can follow a bad day, and it’s a blessing to have a weekend (circuit breaker) to reflect. It’s better to recognise this yourself and walk away for an extended period if you are trading poorly. Use the time wisely, and don’t look at your charts. Your losses are not because you miss placed a squiggly line on a chart.
3) Trading when tired is a recipe for disaster. It magnifies every single human emotion that allows poor decision-making to creep in. If you cant build yourself a decent routine and trade tired, you need to address this before you ever look at your charts or think of clicking.
4) You cant learn from your mistakes if you are not honest about the cause. My friend was honest but careful not to brutalise his mistakes. I have a tendency to either lie to myself or overly criticise myself when I fail to meet my standards. Neither is constructive in the long run.
It’s about me but not just me
This reminder is timely as I have been burning the candle at both ends despite my loved ones and friends screaming at me to slow down. Last Wednesday, I collapsed after a 13k run and couldn’t get up. I had been sleeping <5 hours the last few weeks, some days running off <2hrs working like crazy, and I have neglected those around me by being cocooned in my office.
I am also dealing with immediate family (mum and dad) health issues that I struggle to deal with. This all comes when I feel my trading is improving, thanks to a great trading community I have joined. This weekend I am taking the time to reflect on my priorities and what I want to achieve. Most importantly, I am taking time to be with the ones I love. They need me, and I need them. Everything else comes after.
Thank you for reading, and have a great weekend.
Family -less wife taking the photo:)
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