MY COMMITMENT:
I am committed to sit and wait for the very best opportunities. Those opportunities are clear, easy to see, and work quickly.
Everything else just invites pain.
2 Minutes. Clear Negativity.
- Do a “power pose”. Arms above head like winning a race, pump arms, mimic winning. Reduces negative feelings. Increases testosterone.
2 Minutes. Trading Plan Review
- Go over basic setups and what market conditions are required for trading.
- Draw out the setups you trade, or metric. Confirm these are the only patterns you trade.
- Keep setups next to you during the session.
2 Minutes. Strategy Visualization
- Visualize every strategy in your trading plan that you may trade during the session.
- Imagine wins and losses. See yourself not affected by either.
- Be realistic. Imagine trades that are slow to move towards your target. Imagine trades with slippage. Rehearse what you do and your ideal emotional state.
2 Minutes. Dominant Trading Theme.
- A theme is what you’re specifically working on and need to be reminded of. It can also be a fix to a problem.
- Having an expectation of what “should” happen is a problem for me. I override this every day by writing down a few sentences about why I don’t need expectations to trade well. Whatever comes to mind. Re-enforce the theme and try to remember it throughout the trading session. Themes may change ever few days or weeks.
2 Minutes. Parts Negotiation.
- You should be feeling reaady to trade. Calm, assertive, disciplined.
- If not, note the part of yourself in protest. Negotiate with it to calm it.
Trading Specific Tasks : Check news, watchlists ready, charts platform open, position size considered. These come last so you’re not distracted from the rest of the routine.