Risk Management
You Start Trading to Get Back to Even
Fifteen minutes before the close. You're down $50. One quick scalp. ES is moving. You don't need much. One point. Two contracts. Make back the fifty. Shut it down. Finish the day flat.
Trading Mistakes
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.
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 Trading the Outcome
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
You Start Practicing The Wrong Thing
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.
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.