Transcription
If you were to try to explain to me the difference between a winning and a losing trader, what exactly would you say? I'm constantly surprised at what uh people think are the attributes to one or the other. And that might be surprising to you, but we're going to go over today what I think you can go through as a checklist personally to be able to answer, hey, am I a winner or I'm am I a loser? and what do I need to change and lean into to better my trading situation. Anyways, let's get into it.
I don't mean any offense, but most of you don't have any idea of what an actual winning trader looks like. You probably are thinking something like confidence, conviction, big opinions, big swings, and a sense of certainty. Somebody that you might say like, "Yo, bro, hey, next time you have like a good pick, like send it my way." It's somebody that you just feel like knows where the market is heading at all times somehow. Well, this video is not just that. This is going to be about what actually changes when someone crosses that chasm from struggling and inconsistency into a dependably profitable trader. And by the end of this, you should be able to spot very clearly whether you can identify with the winning behaviors or if you're still operating consistently like a loser, even though you don't want to admit it yet. So, here we go.
Once you finally become a winning trader, one of the first things that'll change is how you relate to uncertainty. See, losers, they're so uncomfortable without knowing. They crave that clarity. They want confirmations and they want full explanations. They want to know why and if a trade will work before they even take the risks. They need those narratives and the stories and the conviction just to calm their nerves. Winners though, winners stop trying to feel certain. They accept that uncertainty is permanent. They just stop fighting it. They don't feel the need to always be right. What they do care about is managing the risk when they're wrong. And that happens often. This alone filters a lot of people out.
Second, let's talk about where a trader's confidence actually comes from. The loser, they get their confidence solely from outcomes. A win is going to make them feel smart and on top of the world, but a loss can send them spiraling. Their self-belief, it will rise and fall right alongside their P&L. But you see, for winners, they build that confidence through process and repetition. like if they show up, they execute, they manage their risk, that those results are just going to show up over time. You're not going to find them being euphoric after a big win, but they're also not going to break down while they're on a downswing. That emotional bell curve will kind of flatten out. And that emotional neutrality is not boredom. It's actually a sense of control.
Style of execution is another big difference between winners and losers. Losers, they hesitate. They'll override their plans and they'll negotiate with themselves all in real time while in positions. They'll move their stops. They might skip the exits that they had literally just planned out. And they can impulsively start adding size and risk. They'll hesitate when they shouldn't, but then they'll force it at just the wrong times. The winners, however, they execute faster and with much less drama. All of their decisions were made prior to the trade itself. most of the work has already happened and that execution becomes and almost looks mechanical. So if you're constantly thinking and tinkering while you're in a trade, that should come across to you as a red flag. Something you might want to look at.
By the way, winning traders, they're often trading a lot smaller size than you might think. And this may surprise you because we all live online and we see these screenshots of these huge P&Ls and big wins, but they're not often consistently going for these big home runs. and they're not attached emotionally to the outcome of every trade. Their size is often perfectly on the edge of being very aggressive, but just small enough so that they can think clearly while they're executing the trades. Losing traders, though, I think you know what's coming. They size purely off their emotion. They might size up to make back some of their losses. They want to try to prove something to somebody or to themselves. And ultimately, they're trying to accelerate this timeline. But winners, they just understand that the process and staying sharp matters more than squeezing every single dollar or chasing every single dollar in every move. It's thinking longevity over excitement and dopamine every single time.
And what about the difference between how mistakes are handled? Losing traders, they'll either ignore blatant errors or they might obsess over them way too much. They can rationalize a trade or beat themselves up endlessly over time. And neither of these is leading you down a path to improvement. Winners though, they observe and review their errors with much less emotion. They just want to seek out the pattern. Where did that execution break down? Where did my discipline sit slip up? Where was that sizing inappropriate and why? And then they just adjust one thing. Not everything. Not their entire strategy. They're just pulling one lever at a time. And that done over and over, refining and re removing that fat will lead to compounding growth over time.
Now, let's talk about time horizon a bit. Losers, they're obsessing over this one trade in the moment or this week or this quarter. They want their validation and they want it now as soon as possible. Whereas winning traders, they think over an expanded period of time. It's all orienting around process. If they do that, they firmly believe that the results will just show up over an extended period. And they understand that making good decisions won't necessarily show up in the results immediately. There really just isn't a rush. This is really just a marathon of execution amongst uncertainty. And this ability to be patient is an edge that most will just never have.
And what about something as simple as how you speak about markets? And poker players know this. They can tell you the skill level or a winning or a losing poker player just from them telling you one hand in one minute. The losers, they tend to talk in these absolutes. There's no nuance like oh this has to go up or ah this price movement it just doesn't make any sense. Oh, they're for sure manipulating the price here. The winners though they're they're speaking in probabilities. They're leaving that ego at the door. something like, "Well, if this happens, well, I'll just do this. And if this other case occurs, I'll just go ahead and adjust. And if I'm wrong, okay, well, I'm invalidated. On to the next one." No biggie. No arguing. It's just response and acceptance. And that mindset can remove a lot of the emotional friction that a lot of people deal with.
And after I say all this, if we're being honest, most of you know which side of this you fall on. Maybe you navigate some of these as a winner, some of these as a loser. That's okay because we all do and there's always room to grow in this game. You are by no means don't stand a chance or out of this game. What you are is just early to this giant opportunity that is laying there right in front of you. The alignment, the awareness is key. It doesn't just solely mean you need to be smarter or more intelligent. And that alignment includes things like who you are, how you trade, how you manage your risk, and how you handle the pressure. That is what can change everything for you. I am by no means meaning to discourage anyone from trying this. It's rather just to simply remove any fantasy you have about the trading world. The winners out there, they are not some legendary superheroes. They are disciplined, boring, patient, and most importantly, they are honest with themselves all the time. So, if month by month, you can move a little bit closer inch by inch, the results will ultimately follow. And hey, if you won't or you can't, you'll at least deep down know why it didn't work out.
So, thanks for watching. Please like and subscribe. I love talking about this type of stuff. And if you're interested, we have like I think 1,200 people or so in the free Discord now. We're talking mindset, psychology, equities, crypto, futures, uh kind of anything in this game. And lots of great conversations happening and people leveling up. If that's something interesting to you, free link in the uh description below. And of course, this is not investment advice. It's just educational purposes only. Catch you guys in the next.