The Smoke And Dust Of Myth
"Keep a list before your mind of those who burned with anger and resentment about something, of even the most renowned for success, misfortune, evil deeds, or any special distinction. Then ask yourself, how did that work out? Smoke and dust, the stuff of simple myth trying to be legend . . ."
— Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
Today's meditation is a tough one to compare to trading.
We don't want to be driven to the heights of hate, anger or perfectionism on our trading journey. Sticking to our plan 100% of the time, means that there will be controlled reds occasionally, due to the very nature of what we are trying to achieve. We will never reach perfection because we will always have the odd trade going against us; that is pretty much guaranteed. It is how we deal with those trades that are going against us, that makes the difference. If they are controlled manageable reds, our bank will be protected. The regular greens will far outweigh the occasional controlled reds. This means that we are not generating hate or anger because we are sticking fully to our rules/criteria for our strategies. We are also not seeking perfection, because we know that it is impossible. What we are seeking however, is consistency in our trading. We consistently take the profit that we targeted pre game/race etc. and we consistently take the occasional controlled red which protects our bank and keeps us profitable long term.
This also means that we won't be enslaved to emotions that make us miserable and dissatisfied, as long as we consistently follow our rules to the letter.
Practice trading consistently day in day out, rinse and repeat. The more you do this, the better you will become. It takes hard work, patience, discipline and persistence; but it can be achieved!
Become obsessed at being consistent and you will be at peace with your trading.
You can do it; you've got this!