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Coffee Thoughts – Don’t Trade to Prove Something

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At some point, I stopped trading the market and started trading my ego.

I wouldn’t have said that out loud back then.

But looking back, it was obvious.

I wasn’t trading setups. I was trading to prove I was smart.

That I could bounce back.

That I was right and the market was wrong.

That I could silence the doubt in my own head, or someone else’s voice.

You can guess how that went.

Forced trades. Oversized positions. Revenge entries that made no sense.

All because I needed the win; not because the trade made sense.

When your identity gets tied to the outcome of one trade, you’re not a trader.

You’re just a gambler in denial.

This game doesn’t reward pride. It rewards process.

Now? I trade what’s there. Not what I wish was there.

I let the win or loss be what it is, data.

Not a statement about me.

The market doesn’t care what you’re trying to prove.

And the more you try to prove, the worse your decisions get.

So here’s a quiet reminder:

You don’t need to prove anything.

Just trade well.

— Gav, with coffee

Side note: If you’re working on detaching emotions from execution, check out my Back to Basics of Trading series — it’s built for that.

Brewing Patience – What Espresso Taught Me About Timing My Trades

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Some mornings, I get impatient.

I grind the beans. Heat the machine. Pull the shot.

Too fast.

The crema’s thin. The taste is flat. I drink it anyway, but I know I rushed it.

Espresso doesn’t like to be rushed.

The machine needs time to heat. The pressure needs to build. The extraction needs to flow at just the right pace.

Skip any of that, and it shows in the cup.

Trading works the same way.

I’ve learned this the hard way, especially with setups I want to be ready.

The price is moving. The level is near. I think I see the pattern forming. So I enter early.

Then it rolls over. Or chops around. Or stops me out before it ever takes off.

All because I couldn’t wait.

I’ve learned to treat my entries like I treat my coffee.

  • Let the conditions warm up
  • Watch the flow
  • Wait for the moment, not the noise

Because forced trades taste just like rushed espresso.

Bitter.

There’s a rhythm to both.

You don’t need to be fast. You need to be in sync.

Brew slow. Trade slow. Let it come to you.

Good things rarely arrive early — but they often arrive if you’re still waiting.

Coffee Thoughts – The Problem is You, Not the System

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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.

Coffee Thoughts – Trading Alone Doesn’t Mean Trading in Isolation

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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.

What I Thought Was Discipline Was Actually Fear

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I’ve been trading pretty tightly lately.

Rules set. Checklist followed. Pre-market done.
No chasing. No overtrading. Just clean execution.

Or so I thought.

That kind of structure usually helps me stay sharp. But last week, something felt off.

I’d mark up a level, see price line up perfectly… and still hesitate.
No entry. No trade. Just a bunch of second-guessing.

And of course, the move ran without me. Classic.

So I took a step back and opened the journal.

Here’s what hit me:

Discipline or fear?

It’s a fine line.

Following your rules is good. Essential, even.

But when you start hiding behind them — when they become reasons not to act — that’s not discipline.

That’s fear wearing a name tag that says “risk management.”

Here’s how it showed up for me:

  • “It didn’t check every single box.”
  • “Let’s just wait for more confirmation.”
  • “I’ll take the next one.”

All of it sounded smart. Safe. Professional.

But deep down, I wasn’t protecting capital — I was avoiding discomfort.

I didn’t want to lose.
I didn’t want to be wrong.
I didn’t want to feel the hit.

A journal check

One note I scribbled months ago saved me:

“Rules protect edge. Not your ego.”

That snapped it into focus.

So I sat down and trimmed the fat.

What are the core rules?
The ones tied to real edge — not fear?

Now I keep it simple.

The framework stays. But I leave space to think.
Space to act.
Space to be a trader — not just a rule follower.

My gut check now?

If I’m passing on valid setups just to “be safe”…
If the journal keeps saying “hesitated” or “late entry”…
If I’m blaming discipline when it’s really doubt…

It’s time to pause.

Because real discipline means showing up.
Even when it feels uncomfortable.

Until next time — trade sharp, stay honest.

Trading is About Location. Always Has Been

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I’ve been deep in the trenches lately.

Refining setups, rewriting plans, backtesting like a maniac (manually with Tradingview’s market replay— no fancy automation), setting up accounts, even negotiating commissions.

It’s been intense. A bit draining, to be honest.

But stepping back gave me space to revisit old trading journals, flip through a few good books, and do some real thinking. Not the motivational fluff — just the raw stuff. The “why am I doing this” kind of thinking.

So if you see me sharing more quick posts like this — random wisdom, trading notes, whatever — it means I’m still grinding. Still learning.

Anyway, here’s something that hit me again during backtesting:

Location. Location. Location.

We say this about property all the time.

But it’s just as true for trading.

In real estate, you don’t just build anywhere. You study the surroundings. The flow. The demand. You consider the big picture. Why? Because you want consistency. Long-term value. Not a lucky flip.

Same thing on the chart.

That pattern you swear by? The one that used to print pips for you? It might still work — if it shows up in the right place. If it’s in context.

Context is location.

  • Where is price in the session?
  • Where are we relative to the range?
  • Are we inside value or chasing extremes?

You get the idea.

A quick gut check

When my trading gets messy, I go back to one line I scribbled on the first page of my journal:

Location → Path → Management

Simple. Clean. Enough to reset my focus.

If you’re unsure why something’s not working lately, start there. Pull the charts. Check your entries. Study the location.

Sometimes the problem isn’t the setup.

It’s where you’re trying to run it.

Until next time — trade well, stay sharp.