Skip to main content

Weekly Review: 3/20/23 to 3/24/23

 

My Weekly Review Process

OVERVIEW

The past week was very profitable. The goal was not to aim for profitability but to adhere to my daily goals and focus on positive triggers. Maintaining the rules/goals I have put into place and adding the new behavioral cycle aspect to my trading has shifted my performance charts in the right direction.

The process was difficult, but I balanced everything while focusing on trade after trade to see the positive triggers. Then, reviewing the week's profits, I was surprised to earn above $600. I knew I was green on the week but only looked at my weekly earnings on Friday. My focus wasn't on making money, but by focusing on psychology, everything else fell into place.

As the week progressed, I encountered another aspect of my trading that needed more refinement. This started to surface on Tuesday when I let past trades influence my decisions for future trading decisions. I was still operating very much in Cycle B, but the constant feeling like I was always selling too soon made me want to give things more time.  

This became more apparent on Wednesday when it became clear I was giving my losers more time to run in hopes of a profitable trade or for it to turn out the way I expected. I started missing fills, which took me off the rails, thinking I would miss all the opportunities today. With this occurring and selling too soon the previous day, the summation was enough to derail and change my behavior. In this specific circumstance, the fact that I was ready and had my order in to not get my fill was the catalyst needed to force me down a gray road.

It was clear that I did not learn or understand the lessons on Tuesday. Taking these trades on Wednesday was okay, but I needed to limit my losses when I was wrong, and I gave them too much room, hoping they would go the way I wanted. On the other side, giving positions more time on green trades will likely be different, and I am sure I will discover all the nuances associated with this aspect when it becomes a focus. Still, for now, I am working on other things.

Moving on, I created another day goal to not give losers more time. If the trade is red and not doing what I need it to do, I must cut it. No questions. This is all about better risk management of losing trades. There is no need to hold it just to be more wrong.

The more times certain events happen, and if they are perceived to be consistent, the greater the chance that an adverse event will give rise to a change in my behavior. For example, selling too soon started to overwhelm my thoughts. Then a final blow of being ready for a trade not getting filled finally provided enough energy for me to change my behavior.

I could have been lucky and had a win, but I would have yet to delve deeper into this type of scenario. As a result, my mindset and behaviors are becoming more apparent, and I am more aware of my trading than ever. This happening was luckier because the lessons learned here are indispensable to how I want to develop as a trader.

The rest of the week, I honed in on my trading and adhered to my daily goals. No other issues came up in the last two days of the week, and I ended the week on a good note. 

Also, I must not only focus on the bad days I need to improve but also acknowledge the good days that leave me with a sense of accomplishment and a confidence boost, as on Friday.

Friday was definitely a  confidence boost day. Nothing really changed from earlier in the week except my mindset. I still sold too soon and missed more of the opportunity available, but I was more appreciative of being able to partake and be so close to achieving more. 

Before, I would feel like I wasn't doing enough, and I felt like I missed opportunities and needed to do more and want more. This would lead to a sense of urgency to get what I was owed or to recover the lost opportunity. This was like a past-induced urgency. An urge to change the past to get those missed opportunities.

Now the urgency has shifted to be more future based with wanting to repeat the past, so positive events will likely occur. An urge to repeat the past to continue to have those opportunities. 

By journaling to this extent, blogging, and analyzing, this realization would have occurred slowly and not even materialized.

I am grateful for all the trades I have taken because they all served as a means to learn and improve. So I ended this week on a good note and one that is confidence-boosting in the sense that I need to keep doing what I am doing, and the best route to success is to keep focusing on positive triggers.







NEW GOALS FOR NEXT WEEK

I will continue to adhere to my updated daily goals for the next week. I am looking forward to what awaits me at the end of the coming week!

I intended to have this weekly review done over the weekend, but as I was traveling this weekend, it was hard to complete this before the start of the new week. Now that I am more in tune with my behaviors and psychological aspects of trading and realize how vital health/mind is in trading, there should be no rush. That said, since I was traveling to come back home on Monday, I decided to take the day off and Post my review and resume trading activities on Tuesday.

  • Focus on Intraday System Pattern A-C. 
    • Pattern A: reaction zone crossovers for an RZ reject or RZ bounce
    • Pattern B: key levels for a KL reject or KL bounce.
    • Pattern C: RZ breaks (only on clear long-time duration formations)
  • Do not trade anything else.
  • Keep position size small. DO NOT AVERAGE DOWN ON ENTRIES!
  • Plan for the clear setups ONLY!
  • Patience is the key to solid entries and to maintaining low-stress levels.
  • Fewer trades with more confidence.
  • Focus on SPY and TSLA options ONLY!
  • Time to simplify the process and improve/reach the next level.
  • Actively challenge my regression pattern to ONLY trade my plan.
  • Do not give in to negative triggers.
  • Do not give losers more time!
  • FOCUS ON POSITIVE TRIGGERS.


Comments

Popular Posts

Weekly Review: 5/8/23 to 5/12/23

  My Weekly Review Process OVERVIEW I started the week with little to show for it on Monday . I played what I was supposed to, but my thresholds were hit, and looking back, I got in too soon and sold too soon. Other than that, I was dead on with the play. It was more of a timing/patience game. Which is hard to work on when I am still trying to gain confidence. Tuesday continued to provide adamant resistance to success. I was 100% ready for opportunities, but the follow-through on my plays left much to be deserved. Nonetheless, I played what I needed to play and left it at that. Frustration was definitely building up here.  On Wednesday , more testing of patience and timing. I still need to improve in achieving profitability, but I am on the right track with my chosen plays. The opportunities were clear, but my mindset and self hindered my success. I see it more clearly than ever. Relinquishment will help correct this, and patience and mindfulness will help stabilize it. The day ended

UPDATES ON FUTURE POSTS

  Updates on Future Posts MOVING CONTENT TO X (Twitter) I will no longer be that active on my webpage but will shift to my X account.  I have learned and grown from my experience writing blog posts/ recording in my online day trading journal. At this time, I feel a stronger pull to change the medium by which I document and share my progress. Change and growth is an ongoing process.  I look forward to the future. Sincerely, Helixtrader36  Follow @helixtrader36 Tweets by helixtrader36

Day Trader Behavior Cycles: The Foundations of Change

  Reward and Punishment Cycles THE QUESTION What Behaviors Do I Repeat? As I stepped into the realm of trading full-time, I quickly realized how psychology and specific behaviors can positively or negatively affect trader performance. Beginning trading full-time in one of the most hyper-inflated markets and one of the best bull markets in history, I witnessed very volatile and drastic moves. Having been learning about the market on and off for a couple years before full-time immersion, I was approaching the market cautiously. But due to the highly bullish nature of the market, it seemed my cautious approach was nothing more than a hindrance. As I started participating in the market, I slowly fell into a false sense of security. I knew this wouldn't last forever, but the opportunity was too great to not push and be a part of the crowd. People made lots of money regardless of what or when they bought. Those who held and hoped were rewarded handsomely. As the days, weeks, and months w