The Buck Stops Here
"For nothing outside my reasoned choice can hinder or harm it — my reasoned choice alone can do this to itself. If we would lean this way whenever we fail, and would blame only ourselves and remember that nothing but opinion is the cause of a troubled mind and uneasiness, then by God, I swear we would be making progress."
— Epictetus, Discourses
Another interesting meditation again today and it immediately draws comparisons to trading!
I realised quite early on during my trading journey, that I had to take ownership and full responsibility for my own trades.
Even if you rely on tipsters or selections from other people in trading groups and social media such as Twitter etc. and it goes wrong, it is easy to then lay the blame at somebody else's door; but in reality it's nobody's fault but yours!
By all means take on board other people's selections if you wish, but make sure you do your own research and see if they fit and fully meet your own rules/criteria for your own strategies.
By taking full responsibility for your own trades, you are in control of your decision making and not relying on other people. You just need to manage your trades to completion for a targeted profit or a controlled pre-agreed loss.
Remember, if you fully research every potential trade and they fully meet the rules/criteria for your strategies, you know you will be profitable many more times than when a trade goes against you.
Be consistent in making the right choices and fully managing each and every trade to completion, to protect your trading bank; "The buck stops here."