Coffee Thoughts – The Problem is You, Not the System

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.