October 20th, 2026
Day 93 was another frustrating reminder that my biggest challenge in trading is no longer necessarily the strategy itself. It’s my ability to execute it consistently, especially when the market opens.
I’ve noticed that when I wake up in the morning, I immediately start feeling nervous about trading. I think a lot of that anxiety comes from my previous experiences, when I was constantly questioning my system, changing rules, and wondering why things weren’t working. There was so much uncertainty that I almost conditioned myself to expect something to go wrong.
Now, however, things are different. I’ve spent considerable time backtesting and refining my strategy, and I finally have a system that I believe gives me a genuine edge. That doesn’t mean every trade will be profitable, but it does mean I should be able to trust the process over a large enough sample of trades.
Unfortunately, knowing that intellectually and actually executing it are two completely different things.
Refining My Morning Trading Rules
One of the biggest adjustments I’ve made involves how I approach the morning session.
Under my updated strategy, I want to be much more selective about entering trades early in the day. Even if price is trading outside the first VWAP standard deviation band, I don’t necessarily want to enter if the move has already been underway for a considerable amount of time.
I don’t want to chase extended moves or put myself in situations where the risk outweighs the potential reward.
If I do take a morning trade, my profit targets are also more conservative. I’m focusing on nearby fractal levels or the 1 ATR target, with the goal of securing profits on both contracts rather than unnecessarily holding for a larger move.
The idea is simple: protect my capital, take the opportunities that fit my system, and avoid turning a profitable morning into a losing one.
Day 93 Travel Poster
Reviewing Today’s Trades
Trade 1 — 8:45 AM: Missed Winner
Right around 8:45, a solid trading opportunity presented itself. The setup was there, and according to my rules, this was a trade I should have taken.
Unfortunately, I hesitated and missed it.
Had I executed the trade properly, the first contract would have earned approximately 20 points, while the second contract could have captured another 5 points.
It wasn’t an enormous move, but it was exactly the type of straightforward, manageable opportunity my system is designed to identify.
Trade 2 — 9:10 AM: Another Missed Winner
At approximately 9:10, the market reversed and moved higher, presenting another potential entry.
Once again, I failed to act.
This was actually the better opportunity of the morning. Based on my review, the first contract could have captured approximately 70–71 points, with another 5 points available on the second contract.
That’s two potentially profitable setups I missed, not because the strategy failed, but because I allowed hesitation to interfere with execution.
Trade 3 — Later in the Session: Losing Trade
The final trade of the day resulted in a loss of approximately 31 points.
And, frustratingly, this was the trade I actually took.
Instead of participating in the earlier opportunities, I sat on the sidelines, watched them play out, and eventually entered a trade that lost money.
The irony is difficult to ignore. I was so concerned about losing money in the morning that I avoided two trades that would have worked, only to take a losing trade later.
What Went Wrong?
The problem today wasn’t simply that I lost money. Losses are an unavoidable part of trading, even with a profitable system.
The bigger problem was my inconsistency.
I allowed fear to keep me out of setups I had already identified as valid. Instead of approaching each opportunity objectively, I was thinking about what could go wrong.
That’s a dangerous mindset because it creates a disconnect between the strategy I’ve tested and the strategy I’m actually trading.
I can’t expect my real-world results to match my backtesting if I’m constantly skipping trades out of fear.
At the same time, I need to stop judging my decisions solely by whether a trade wins or loses. A valid trade that loses money can still be a good decision. A winning trade taken outside my rules can still be a mistake.
What matters is whether I followed the system.
The Lesson From Day 93
Today reinforced something I’ve been realizing throughout this entire trading journey: having a profitable strategy and being able to execute that strategy are two separate skills.
I’ve spent months developing the technical side of trading. I’ve studied VWAP bands, moving averages, market structure, Fibonacci levels, and different momentum indicators. I’ve tested and retested setups, trying to eliminate unnecessary trades and improve my consistency.
But now the work is becoming much more psychological.
I need to become comfortable with uncertainty. I need to accept that some trades will lose. Most importantly, I need to stop allowing previous losses to influence the decisions I’m making today.
Looking back, the two missed opportunities represented approximately 100 points of potential combined gains across my contracts, before accounting for the later losing trade. That’s frustrating, especially knowing I had identified the setups.
But hypothetical profits aren’t actual profits, and I can’t keep treating every missed opportunity as money that was somehow taken away from me.
The real goal is to execute consistently enough that my statistical edge has an opportunity to play out.
My takeaway: I don’t need another strategy adjustment every time I have a frustrating day. I need to trust the rules I’ve established, execute valid setups without hesitation, and accept the results without becoming emotionally attached to each individual trade.
Day 93 was disappointing, but the lesson is clear.
Stop trading the fear of what might happen. Start trading the setup that’s actually in front of me.
Total Profit: $-109.80
MNQ Chart
