It was somewhat fitting that this trading week ended on Friday the 13th. I’m usually a little sad when 4pm hits on Friday and the trading week is over. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE weekends, but I also LOVE trading THAT much. This week was different. This week was exhausting. This week was stressful. And not because some #NGTMI called me a child and a dick in chat. That was some much-needed comic relief.
Note: I wrote the above on Friday night.
This past week was historic for many reasons. What stands out the most for me were the TWO limit down Level1 halts and even one limit up if you care about the futures. It was one of those weeks I would be telling my grandkids about, if I had any kids with only two legs. I started trading in 2008. I thought I had seen it all while “coming up” in that environment. But this week topped any and all of that. Sure, maybe it’s a bit because memory fades over time. Or perhaps it’s because I had NO clue what I was doing back then? Regardless, it was a crazy and truly history week and I don’t see it slowing down anytime soon.
That leads me to YOU. Yes, YOU.
I don’t want to talk about myself and my trading here. I want to talk about YOU. I’ve had numerous conversations with traders this past week and weekend and most of them go back to the same thing.
Stop comparing yourself to other traders.
Day Trading is you against you and you against the market. Stop judging yourself based on how you’re doing compared to someone else in chat. Stop comparing yourself to that guy on twitter who allegedly had the best week of his entire trading career. Stop thinking you’re missing every trade and everyone else is nailing it perfectly. Stop with the FOMO. Stop with the chasing.
99.999% of traders ACT like they are killing it in this environment. But 99.995% of them act like that EVERY day anyway.
By the way, I wrote a blog about this topic back in November 2017. Give it a read HERE and see how it compares to our current conditions. Just replace the stocks in that blog with the Covid-19 stock(s) of your choice.
If you sat out most of this week because it was too volatile, that’s OK.
If you had a mediocre week because the extreme moves made you hesitate, that’s OK.
If you had a crap week because a trade or two simply didn’t work and then whipped you out on a nasty rug pull, that’s OK.
If you had an average week because you stuck to your process, that’s GOOD.
If you had a wildly profitable week because you realized you needed to step on the gas at times like Friday afternoon, that’s GREAT and what every experienced trader with a process should have done.
However, if you made any money this week and/or “killed it” because you threw some darts and got lucky, enjoy it while it lasts and be ready for the markets to take all of that back and then some.
Back to YOU. Tune out the noise. Stick to the process. What’s next week going to be like? I HAVE NO IDEA, but I have a feeling it will be historic too. What am I doing? I’m following my process like I always do and will step on the gas when/if we see something newsworthy of doing so.
What should YOU do? Strive to be a little better than you were last week and stop freakin’ worrying about and comparing yourself to everyone else.
Good luck this week. Again, stick to the process. Don’t do anything stupid. And ZERO FOMO.
Oh, and wash your hands.
