When the rest of the year continues like this I will be a very happy man. Not just in terms of points made but in terms of my discipline in adhering to my strategy and this week was another great week with regards to both.
Of course, with regards to my strategy there were times when I was tempted to deviate, for example, entering on a lower time frame (1 min chart) to try and get into a move, but I didn't. There were times when I was tempted to scalp out, but I didn't. I let trades stop me out for breakeven. I sat through the discomfort of positions moving against me, and I Flipped the Switch on numerous occasions when my original position had been stopped out. I even considered not trading on Friday to preserve my 100+ point week, but I didn't. One small item of note is that I have started to move my stops to breakeven sooner than I used to, but I don't believe this is out of fear, but rather it's in reaction to how I perceive the market and it's volatility. I am comfortable if I get stopped out for a loss or for breakeven, but if a trade is 12 or more points in profit, why not move your stop to a more sensible level? In addition to this, the rule of my exit strategy dictates that when certain conditions are met, my stop would be moved to breakeven or positive irregardless of market action or volatility, and so in a volatile market, this just happens a lot sooner than it would do in a calmer one.
This is good trading.
This is, in my opinion, what will separate me from the 90%, and this is, what I will maintain, without fail, throughout the year. You cannot control the markets nor can you control how many points you will make on a trade or in a session, but, you can control your actions, your reactions, your thoughts, and your emotions. If you do this, then you can be completely free of any mental anguish because you know that the end result, happened exactly as it was meant to. It was not distorted by you. This gives a freedom to your trading because then, neither winning or losing have any influence over you and your decisions. They are merely what they are. Outcomes. Nothing more, nothing less. They do not define you as a trader. The consistent application of discipline in any and all situations is what defines you.
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