Risk Management
You Become What You Repeat
The trade moves against you. Closer to your stop. Your hand moves toward the mouse. Click. You move the stop. Just a little. You've done this before. But maybe you don't remember where it started.
Trader mindset
Self awareness
You Start Keeping Two Scoreboards
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
You Start Making Exceptions for Yourself
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
You Start Moving The Goalposts
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 Start Hiding How Much Trading Matters to You
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.
Trading Psychology
The Trade Ended. You Didn't
Your stop was hit. The platform made its little chime. The position disappeared. You pushed your chair back. Walked into the kitchen. Life was supposed to continue. An hour later you opened the chart again.