Note to Self

I just came across this angry note I wrote to myself last year after a particularly bad run of trades that could very easily have been avoided. Ever had that feeling? I find it often helps to scribble something like this down immediately afterward to help get that awful sinking feeling out of your system, and to remind yourself of the lessons you've (hopefully) learned. Enjoy...

You have completed screwed up [not the phrase I actually used] your trading discipline. You have lost over 200 pips because you:


• Exited trades too early
  
• Set arbitrary and unnecessary stop losses
  
• Allowed discretionary trading
  
• Failed to trade at the right time

You are no longer allowed to look at any trading application or chart outside of times you should be trading. You must exit all charts and applications immediately after placing a trade and keep them closed until it's time to review your position again.

On the bright side, the lessons I learned from this nasty period led me to trade with much more discipline in the months that followed, and as a result I've been having a good run so far this year.