It’s All Your Choice

Narrowing Your Focus and Being Intentional

Intentional Focus

You can choose

  • Which market to trade
  • How to trade it
  • How much to risk
  • The strategy to deploy
  • Which chart to watch
  • The timeframe to trade on
  • How long to spend at the screens
  • To journal or not

The list is endless.

Yet bizarrely, even with all that choice, this game still defeats the majority of players.

I believe the very fact there is so much choice is one of the reasons why so many traders struggle.

And when given no or very limited choice, traders can flourish.

Take the old London prop desks for example. You were told what to trade, how to trade it, how much to risk, and how to document your performance. (That strategy was usually calendar spreads on the BUND, BOBL or SHATZ) There was no room for deviation in style, market, strategy, or risk.

“Here are the rules of the game – go and make it work or leave”

And whilst the failure rate was still high, it was nowhere near the rate of retail traders today operating from home, trading what they like and when they like.

Why?

Intentional focus.

Distractions

Human beings are notoriously easy to distract.

  • Ooo shiny object
  • Ooo pretty woman
  • Ooo easy money
  • Ooo latest gadget

The same goes for trading. It’s too easy to get distracted and pulled off course.

I’ve found and seen in others that the best way to get where you want to be is to be very intentional with what you are doing.

In all areas.

  • This is what I will trade
  • This is how I will trade it
  • This is how I will prepare and document

Operate under that model and avoid any distractions for months. Track your progress and then audit your performance. What needs changing, where and why?

Then do it again.

And again.

Until you get to where you want to be.

Narrow your focus and be intentional.