The Most Important Thing in Trading

What the most important trading lesson I learned in 2019?

It wasn’t a new set up.
It wasn’t a new algo.
It wasn’t a new indicator.

All three came in handy -- but the lesson that really helped me trade better in 2019?

The need to forgive yourself.

There are no good or bad trades. There are only wrong or right trades. If the trade is wrong it must be stopped. But our inability to admit that we are wrong results in runaway losers that destroy our accounts.

It’s a tale as old as time and repeats itself over and over again because we are unable to forgive ourselves for being wrong so we make things much worse by trying to force the market to be right.

Trying to turn a bad trade into a good one is no way to live

But the power of forgiveness is extraordinary. Not only does it clear our mind and salve our conscience, but when done right it actually helps to improve our discipline. Because to forgive is not to forget. And once you’ve given yourself permission to forgive you are much more likely to accept your mistake, learn from it and not repeat it again.

In the end, it’s kind of ironic that in order to achieve discipline and excellence you actually have to accept and forgive your ineptitude and absence of control.

Happy Holidays to all

B

* This article was originally published here