What Rules Your Ruling Reason?
"How does your ruling reason manage itself? For in that is the key to everything. Whatever else remains, be it in the power of your choice or not, is but a corpse and smoke."
— Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
This is quite a tough one to compare to trading. It could be a reminder that although we have rules and criteria that have to be met before we enter a trade, we also need to be fully focused and in the zone with zero distractions. There is no point entering a trade that fully meets our rules/criteria if we are not in a position to be able to manage that trade to it's completion.
We must be ready to react in a heartbeat when required. If we don't feel that we are able to do that for whatever reason; maybe a distraction or we are not quite in the zone, then we must avoid getting involved until we are 100% confident that we have everything in place to be ready to trade.
We are watching the watchmen; Not only are we following the rules/criteria for our strategies, but we are also ensuring that we are in the right headspace and trading environment to make sure that we are giving ourselves the best possible chance to fully manage our trades to a satisfying conclusion.
One exception to this of course, is if you are using a set and forget strategy, where all your due diligence and staking is in place, before the event. This then means that you either win your stake or lose your liability, which should be sensibly managed in relation to the size of your trading bank.