Trading the Market Journal

The Colour Of Your Thoughts

"Your mind will take the shape of what you frequently hold in thought, for the human spirit is colored by such impressions."— Marcus Aurelius, MeditationsAnother meditation today to compare to tradi

02 April

Be Wary Of What You Let In

"Drama, combat, terror, numbness, and subservience — every day these things wipe out your sacred principles, whenever your mind entertains them uncritically or lets them slip in."— Marcus Aurelius

03 April

Deceived And Divided

"Circumstances are what deceive us — you must be discerning in them. We embrace evil before good. We desire the opposite of what we once desired. Our prayers are at war with our prayers, our plans w

04 April

Don't Let This Go To Your Head

"Make sure you're not made 'Emperor,' avoid that imperial stain. It can happen to you, so keep yourself simple, good, pure, saintly, plain, a friend of justice, god-fearing, gracious, affectionate, an

05 April

Trust, But Verify

"First off, don't let the force of the impression carry you away. Say to it, 'hold up a bit and let me see who you are and where you are from — let me put you to the test' . . ."— Epictetus, Disco

06 April

Prepare Yourself For Negativity

"When you first rise in the morning tell yourself: I will encounter busybodies, ingrates, egomaniacs, liars, the jealous and cranks. They are all stricken with these afflictions because they don't kno

07 April

Expect To Change Your Opinions

"There are two things that must be rooted out in human beings — arrogant opinion and mistrust. Arrogant opinion expects that there is nothing further needed, and mistrust assumes that under the torr

08 April

The Cost Of Accepting Counterfeits

"When it comes to money, where we feel our clear interest, we have an entire art where the tester uses many means to discover the worth . . . just as we give great attention to judging things that mig

09 April

Test Your Impressions

"From the very beginning, make it your practice to say to every harsh impression, 'you are an impression and not at all what you appear to be.' Next, examine and test it by the rules you possess, the

10 April

Judgments Cause Disturbance

"It isn't events themselves that disturb people, but only their judgments about them."— Epictetus, EnchiridionToday's meditation really should resonate with us all from a trading point of view, 100%

11 April

If You Want To Learn, Be Humble

"Throw out your conceited opinions, for it is impossible for a person to begin to learn what he thinks he already knows."— Epictetus, DiscoursesThe title of today's meditation is so true in all walk

12 April

Reject Tantalizing Gifts

"Atreus: Who would reject the flood of fortune's gifts? Thyestes: Anyone who has experienced how easily they flow back."— Seneca, ThyestesI have had a good think about today's meditation and I can't

13 April

Less Is More

"Don't act grudgingly, selfishly, without due diligence, or to be a contrarian. Don't overdress your thought in fine language. Don't be a person of too many words and too many deeds. . . . Be cheerful

14 April

Becoming An Expert In What Matters

"Believe me, it's better to produce the balance-sheet of your own life than that of the grain market."— Seneca, On The Brevity of LifeWhen we compare today's meditation to trading, this is a reminde

15 April

Pay Your Taxes

"Nothing will ever befall me that I will receive with gloom or a bad disposition. I will pay my taxes gladly. Now, all the things which cause complaint or dread are like the taxes of life — things f

16 April

Observe Cause And Effect

"Pay close attention in conversation to what is being said, and to what follows from any action. In the action, immediately look for the target, in words, listen closely to what's being signaled."—

17 April

No Harm, No Foul

"Do away with the opinion I am harmed, and the harm is cast away too. Do away with being harmed, and harm disappears."— Marcus Aurelius, MeditationsI feel that today's meditation is not really relev

18 April

Opinions Are Like . . .

"What is bad luck? Opinion. What are conflict, dispute, blame, accusation, irreverence, and frivolity? They are all opinions, and more than that, they are opinions that lie outside of our own reasoned

19 April

Our Sphere Of Impulses

"Epictetus says we must discover the missing art of assent and pay special attention to the sphere of our impulses — that they are subject to reservation, to the common good, and that they are in pr

20 April

Real Good Is Simple

"Here's a way to think about what the masses regard as being 'good' things. If you would first start by setting your mind upon things that are unquestionably good — wisdom, self-control, justice, co

21 April

Don't Let Your Attention Slide

"When you let your attention slide for a bit, don't think you will get back a grip on it whenever you wish — instead, bear in mind that because of today's mistake everything that follows will be nec

22 April

The Marks Of A Rational Person

"These are the characteristics of the rational soul: self-awareness, self-examination, and self-determination. It reaps its own harvest. . . . It succeeds in its own purpose . . ."— Marcus Aurelius,

23 April

The Mind Is All Yours

"You have been formed of three parts — body, breath, and mind. Of these, the first two are yours insofar as they are only in your care. The third alone is truly yours."— Marcus Aurelius, Meditatio

24 April

A Productive Use For Contempt

"Just as when meat or other foods are set before us we think, this is a dead fish, a dead bird or pig; and also, this fine wine is only the juice of a bunch of grapes, this purple-edged robe just shee

25 April

There's Nothing Wrong With Being Wrong

"If anyone can prove and show to me that I think and act in error, I will gladly change it — for I seek the truth, by which no one has ever been harmed. The one who is harmed is the one who abides i

26 April

Things Happen In Training

"When your sparring partner scratches or head-butts you, you don't then make a show of it, or protest, or view him with suspicion or as plotting against you. And yet you keep an eye on him, not as an

27 April

Turn It Inside Out

"Turn it inside out and see what it is like — what it becomes like when old, sick, or prostituting itself. How short-lived the praiser and praised, the one who remembers and the remembered. Remember

28 April

Wants Make You A Servant

"Tantalus: The highest power is — Thyestes: No power, if you desire nothing."— Seneca, ThyestesToday's meditation is another interesting one and applies to trading too.We must not be servants to t

29 April

Washing Away The Dust Of Life

"Watch the stars in their courses and imagine yourself running alongside them. Think constantly on the changes of the elements into each other, for such thoughts wash away the dust of earthly life."�

30 April

What Is In Keeping With Your Character?

"Just as what is considered rational or irrational differs for each person, in the same way what is good or evil and useful or useless differs for each person. This is why we need education, so that w

John's Journal

Conquering FOMO