Protect The Flame
"Protect your own good in all that you do, and as concerns everything else take what is given as far as you can make reasoned use of it. If you don't, you'll be unlucky, prone to failure, hindered and stymied."
— Epictetus, Discourses
Another interesting meditation again today and when we compare this to trading, it is quite clear to me, that our "flame" is our trading bank!
As it says in today's meditation and I quote; "It's your job, today and every day, to make sure that it has enough fuel, that it doesn't get obstructed or snuffed out"
It is your job to protect your bank as a priority, because without it you can't trade!
This is why it is absolutely vital that you manage your trades to completion, cutting short any trades that are occasionally going against you, at your pre-agreed exit point. This means you are protecting your bank and because your profitable trades will far outweigh an occasional controlled loss, you will of course be profitable long term; which is your aim of course.
You must be disciplined to willingly accept a controlled loss for the sake of the bigger picture. If you don't do this and your loss becomes unmanageable, you are in a position where you can seriously damage your bank and undo all of your hard work, from the past few days/weeks etc!
Slow and steady wins the race and you will get an occasional trade going against you along the way, so you must act swiftly and without hesitation, when this happens. Even with the stats/data that you have available to you, not every trade will go to plan. This is all part of trading, so we must deal with it efficiently.
As long as your flame still flickers, you stay in the game and you are ready to fight the next battle!
"Protect the flame"