The market does what it wants to do. Plain and simple. It goes up, it goes down. Sometimes it doesn’t move at all. Our job is to make money no matter what the market gives us. Sometimes there are good days, sometimes there are bad. The question is, “how can I make money not only on the good days, but the bad as well?” I can tell you through my 10 years of trading that the answer is simple. DISCIPLINE.
When I started my career, people around me were making and losing obscene amounts of money. It was at that point that I decided to be true to myself and figure out a way to make enough money where I was happy, and at the same time keep my losses and stress at the bare minimum. Could I be a 100k a month trader? Sure. But I would never let myself lose 100k in a month. So in my head I simplified things. In my head I said to myself, “Make a dime on 10 trades of 1000 shares, that’s a thousand dollars”. Of course I didn’t take into account the losing trades in a day, but you get the picture. My job is to make money. Make it as simple and as stress-free as possible.
Using this month as an example, I am having my worst trading month of my career. It’s not because trading has been bad—there have been tradable moves—it’s because on the days I have lost money, my discipline went out the window. One day I lost in way too much size, another day I lost because I revenge traded. I can pretty much give you a reason for every losing day I have had. But they all have one common theme: I stopped following the rules that have made me the trader I am. I try to get bigger than the market and then the market knocks me right down on my rear end. This is the type of month that will make me a better trader. Knowing that I don’t want to feel this way again will get me back to my “normal” ways. The saying goes, “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”? I 100% agree with that notion.
The best way to make money in the market is to set your rules and follow them. Be true to yourself, and stick to what got you there. You will see that making money can become habitual. By the way, with three days left, I am very close to getting green this month. For the last week, I have never been more disciplined, and it has paid off.
