November Monthly Review- Playing To Strengths

A review of the major opportunities

“We are most apt to find fulfillment in the enactment of our strengths”

Brett Steenbarger

Leveraging your strengths is the key to performance as it taps into your deepest motivations.

Over recent weeks I have been losing the excitement about trading given my lackluster results. The real problem is that I have been chasing performance by changing my approach to markets - in a bid to participate in this bull market I have widened timeframes and held more positions overnight. I have tried to remake myself to “adapt”. Ironically, in doing so, I have moved away from the very strengths that generated success in the first place. Feeling frustrated often snowballs into greater frustration.

Going over stats for the month was the realisation I needed.

The challenge is to leverage our best competencies consistently. It is to find an edge that best suits our unique characteristics and apply ourselves ruthlessly.

I have written extensively in this newsletter about identifying trading problem patterns and building solutions to counteract them. You can see an example of a relevant post here. It is now time to change the narrative into a positive feedback loop. It is to highlight the traits and capacities that contribute to fulfillment.

As such, this newsletter goes through detailed examples through November to reinforce the strongest hands for my system. The repetition helps to internalise. A simple framework to guide:

• This is how I trade when I make money

More specifically:

• This is the catalyst/s where I make money

• This is the timeframe and the patterns where I make money

• This is the routine I follow when I make money

• This is where I have an edge

The key point to stress is that everyone is different. Where trader education and literature often fall short is that they focus on one specific setup or style as gospel. Generic comments about psychology are thrown around WITHOUT a thorough examination of whether the underlying edge is 1) Real or 2) Suitable to the strengths of the individual.

What follows are notes for the most in-play catalysts for me as an intraday momentum trader in Australia. Take what resonates and reverse engineer to suit your style and character. Abandon what doesn’t.

Top Opportunities in November