Discipline

A guy that goes by the handle T4 on blue-point-trading's stream was sharing yesterday that discipline is one of the key ingredients in successful trading. He said that what people commonly refer to as emotional challenges with trading just come down to discipline, doing only what your plan allows and nothing more or less regardless of what you may be feeling at the time. This is probably not the trading revelation of a lifetime, but is still very interesting way to look at things. Am I disciplined as a trader? Admittedly, not as much as I should be. What is discipline as a trader? It probably comes in many forms and all situations but here are a few that seem important at this moment. Am I only taking trades that specifically conform to my daily trading plan? Is each trade exactly the size it should be according to my plan, neither smaller or larger? Have I been managing active trades exactly as I should be? Was my computer screen configured the way it ought to be for me to trade? Was I watching the market and ready to trade when I should be? Did I update my trading journal and review my performance at the end of the day/week/month? Did I get the amount of sleep that is necessary to be productive today? These, and many other, questions will help me identify if I've been disciplined today or not. Finally, if I haven't been disciplined today what am I going to do tomorrow to fix that? Again, no revelations here. If you follow Dr. Steenbarger, SMB Capital, the Mind of a Trader podcasts, or any other relevant and qualified trading resource you've probably heard all of these things a million times. A next step for me is to ask myself these questions every day and act upon the answers if they are anything other than a resounding and disciplined yes.

Still in a range day

Today came and went more quickly than I would have liked. My non-trading activities dominated my time today, but with the market in a fairly tight range it was a perfect day to be distracted. I did not initiate any trades today, but closed out a EURCHF long and a GBPUSD long for profit. Until we break out of this 2-3 day range on the broader index (S&P 500) I'll be even more cautious about taking trades. The market needs to decided if we're going farther up or if its time for a real run down, and I don't want to be on the other side of a trade when that happens. I've started keeping a trading journal based on some ideas from SMB Capital and Dr. Steenbarger. The spreadsheet is still in its infancy, but you have to start somewhere.

Poor results yesterday

Yesterday, as I posted on Twitter, was not one of my best days. Post losses of more than 80 pips is not a great way to start the week. However, my issue is fairly common and was an issue last week as well. It seems that I enter the week with nothing buy how much money I need/want to make this week in mind and start off trying to get to that goal. This is an attitude that served me well in my previous career, but is not suited for trading. Dr. Steenbarger and the guys over at SMB Capital focus a lot of effort around the concept of "One Good Trade". Their point is that all you should focus on is making that one good trade, and not on the money you are trying to make, have just made, or even just lost. I've been thinking about this concept since roughly noon yesterday and it has become my mission for today. My goal today is to make one good trade.