I’ve lost count of how many systems I’ve tested.

Breakouts, pullbacks, trend following, mean reversion. You name it.

Every time something didn’t work, I blamed the system.
“This doesn’t suit the pair I trade.”
“It’s not made for Asian session.”
“Maybe I need a different indicator.”

Sound familiar?

Eventually, I ran out of systems to blame — and had to face the actual issue:
It wasn’t the strategy.
It was me.

I wasn’t following rules.
I didn’t log my trades.
I sized up too quickly.
I avoided journaling because I didn’t want to see the truth.

No system can fix poor execution.

That’s when the shift happened.

I stopped hunting for the “perfect setup” and started fixing my habits.
Same system — different results.

So before you toss out your strategy and jump to the next shiny thing…
Ask yourself:
Am I the problem?

It’s not a fun question. But it’s a necessary one.

— Gav, with coffee

Side note: If you’re rebuilding your foundation, check out my Back to Basics of Trading series.

I trade alone.

I’ve always preferred it that way. Just me, the chart, and my rules.

But here’s the thing I had to learn the hard way — trading alone doesn’t mean isolating yourself from the world.

In the early years, I went full monk mode. No forums. No chats. Just grind and suffer in silence. I thought that was discipline.

It wasn’t. It was ego dressed up as independence.

The truth is, some of my biggest breakthroughs came not from books or charts, but from conversations. A simple chat with another trader made me realize my risk rule wasn’t as clear as I thought. A blog comment helped me spot a mental leak I didn’t know I had. Sometimes, just saying your trade idea out loud exposes the nonsense.

You don’t need a trading group. You don’t need a signal service. But you do need connection.

A sounding board. A mentor. A fellow struggler.

Trading is already a lonely game — don’t make it harder by shutting the door.

Let people in. Not to trade for you. But to keep your head on straight.

— Gav, with coffee

On a side note, if you’re sorting out your foundation, check out my Back to Basics of Trading series.