How Can You Know Whether You've Never Been Tested?
"I judge you unfortunate because you have never lived through misfortune. You have passed through life without an opponent — no one can ever know what you are capable of, not even you."
— Seneca, On Providence
Another one to compare to trading, when we look at today's meditation.
You will encounter tough moments when you start out on your trading journey, as you are finding or developing a strategy that you feel will suit you. Yes you will make mistakes as you learn and that is all part and parcel of trading of course.
You learn from your mistakes and make sure that you avoid making the same mistakes time and again.
This is why it is advisable to start out using tiny stakes or even paper trading, to make sure that your strategy gives you an edge that you can benefit from. Most strategies will be tweaked along the way, until you are satisfied that it is working to it's best effect.
Once you have that first strategy in place, then it's time to practice day in, day out, so that you are comfortable to execute and then manage your trades fully. This will give you the confidence to consistently make the right choices, whatever happens during a trade.
At various stages throughout your trading journey, you will be tested to the max; more so, in your early days of trading as you have so much to learn.
Later on, the test will come from staying patient and disciplined to stick to the rules/criteria for your strategies 100% of the time, with no exceptions.
Trades will go against you at times, so it is vital to cut short and manage any losses, to ensure that your trading bank is protected at all times. The whole point of course is to become self sufficient and profitable from your trading and this will come, once that you are able to control your losses.
You must however, stay focused, patient, disciplined and have that steely determination and persistence to keep going and sticking to your rules, when things are getting tough!
It can be really hard at times and it's not for the faint hearted, but you can do it for sure!