I thought I was past this.

After a string of red days, I caught myself thinking:
“Surely I’m due for a winner.”

That quiet little expectation-
like the market keeps tabs and eventually hands you a break.

It doesn’t.

You can show up on time, follow your plan, do all the right things… and still lose.
Then show up sloppy the next day and somehow walk away green.
There’s no moral balance sheet here.

The market doesn’t reward effort.
It doesn’t care how bad yesterday felt.
It doesn’t owe you a damn thing.

And honestly? That’s hard to swallow when you’ve been doing this for a while.
Because with some experience comes pride.
And pride says, “I deserve better.”

But trading doesn’t care what you think you deserve.

Each session is a reset.
Each trade has its own terms.
If you’re dragging yesterday’s emotion into today’s execution, you’re already off-balance.

That mindset – “I’m owed” is subtle, but dangerous.
It leads to forced trades, oversized positions, trying to make the market give back what it “took.”

What helped me:
Reminding myself that my job isn’t to be right.
It’s to stay aligned with my process — regardless of what the market gives (or doesn’t).

Some days it pays.
Some days it doesn’t.
But none of it is personal.

— Gav, with coffee

Side note: If you’ve been at this for a while and still feel the pull of emotional trades, my Back to Basics of Trading series might help sharpen your edge again.

There’s a special kind of boredom that only traders know.

You’re flat. No setups. Just candles drifting.
But you’re still there… staring at the screen.
Waiting. Clicking. Fidgeting.

Then comes the itch:
“What if I just take this small one…?”

You know it’s not in the plan.
But it gives you something to do.
Something to feel.

And that’s how boredom becomes expensive.

I’ve blown more money from “just one quick trade” than I have from bad setups.
Not because the trade was terrible.
But because it came from the wrong place.

Boredom trading feels productive.
It’s not.

It’s gambling disguised as participation.

Real discipline isn’t just about managing losses.
It’s about managing inactivity.

Here’s what helped me:

• Close the charts when nothing’s there.
• Walk. Stretch. Journal.
• Let the market come to you.

You don’t get paid for clicking.
You get paid for waiting well — and acting when it’s time.

— Gav, with coffee

Side note: If you’re stuck in the boredom trap, revisit your playbook. Fewer setups, more clarity.

I’ve seen traders stack indicators like furniture in a hoarder’s garage.

Moving averages. RSI. MACD. Fib levels. Support zones. Volume profiles.
And still — no trade.

They’ll call it “being thorough.”

But let’s be honest. Most of the time, it’s just stalling.

Analysis becomes a comfort blanket.
The chart gets more complicated, not clearer.
And decisions get pushed further away.

That’s not trading. That’s avoiding.

I’ve done it too.
When confidence is shaky, I start tinkering. Adding lines. Swapping timeframes.
Deep down, I’m just afraid to be wrong.

But trading doesn’t reward overthinking.
It rewards action under pressure.
With a plan. With risk. With consequences.

Analysis is supposed to guide the trade, not replace the decision.

At some point, you’ve got to stop hiding behind the chart and click the damn button.

And if you can’t?

It’s not a strategy issue. It’s a self-trust issue.

— Gav, with coffee

Side note: If you’re caught in the loop of “almost ready,” my Back to Basics of Trading series might help you clear the noise.

I used to think the perfect setup would solve everything.

The kind of trade where the structure’s clean, price action is obvious, confluence lines up across timeframes, and all the signals say “go.”

So I waited. And waited.

Then watched price take off without me — more times than I care to admit.

Here’s the truth I had to swallow:

Perfect is a fantasy.

Markets aren’t clean. They’re messy, fast, and often unclear.

Clean setups matter. But perfection? That’s procrastination with a halo.

What really matters:

• Do you understand your edge?
• Can you size the trade properly?
• Will you manage it when it moves — or doesn’t?

Good enough with strong risk control beats perfect with hesitation every time.

Now I trade what I see. I manage what comes after. I accept the blur.

Because the edge doesn’t live in waiting for ideal.

It lives in executing well in real conditions.

— Gav, with coffee

Side note: If your charts feel stuck in “almost,” my Back to Basics of Trading series breaks down how I simplified my setup — and got out of my own way.