Self awareness
Friday afternoon. Best week you've had in months. +$1,840. Your wife walks by. Good week? Yeah. Pretty good. And it was. That's one scoreboard. But later that evening something about the week is still bothering you.
Self awareness
The note is taped to the top of your monitor. You wrote it yourself. NO TRADES FIRST 15 MINUTES. It's 9:37. Eight minutes to go. Then something starts moving.
Self awareness
Sunday night. You open your notebook. Fresh page. At the top you write: Goal: $300. Nothing crazy. Sixty dollars a day. Five days. You close the notebook. Friday afternoon you look at the number. +$75. And somehow that becomes a good week.
Self awareness
You're sitting at dinner. Someone asks how the trading is going. You keep cutting your food. It's fine. Making any money? You shrug. Some. Then you change the subject. A few hours later the house is quiet and your notebook is open beside the keyboard.
Self awareness
Your setup appears. You've been waiting all morning. Entry, stop, size — it all matches your plan. You take the trade. Your stop gets hit. Down $400. Everything was where it was supposed to be. A thought appears. What did I do wrong?
Self awareness
The market hasn't opened yet. Coffee in one hand. Mouse in the other. Your setup is already there. You know your plan. Still you keep looking. Just one more thing. Maybe one more chart will make the decision easier.
Self awareness
The market closes. You lace up your running shoes. You haven't even reached the end of the block and you're already replaying the day. You already know which trade you shouldn't have taken.