As someone who experienced the “warmth of collectivism” firsthand as a child, because Russian colonisers brought communism and collectivism to my very individualistic country, let’s dig into what that “warmth” actually looked like.
1. A flat or house to live in. You literally couldn’t buy one. That simply wasn’t an option. You waited for years to get housing assigned by the state. And you can already imagine the quality: quickly built blocks, or the confiscated apartments of “enemies of the people” who were shot or sent to the Gulag. The party elite got the good places. Ordinary people got a cheap Khrushchyovka with a tiny kitchen and no lift after 5–10 years of waiting. No other option.
2. Your job “for life” (whether you wanted it or not). Officially, everyone had work. In practice, you didn’t choose a career so much as you were placed into one. Want to switch? Good luck. Want to start a business? Cute. Private enterprise was either illegal, punished, or pushed into shady “don’t ask, don’t tell” territory.
3. Travel? Not for you. You couldn’t just decide to go somewhere, even within the “friendly” socialist world, without permissions. The border wasn’t a line on a map, it was a wall in your head. Want to see the West? That wasn’t a holiday plan, that was a crime plot.
4. Information was “collective” too. One TV truth, one newspaper truth, one approved version of reality. If your eyes disagreed, your eyes were “wrong.” And if you repeated what you saw out loud, you could become a “problem.”
5. The “warmth” came with a price: fear. You learned early what not to say, to whom, and where. You learned that walls had ears, and sometimes so did classmates. Collectivism works best when everyone self-censors.
6. Queues: the national sport. Food, shoes, furniture, books, washing machines, a decent winter coat. You stood in line because “they might bring something.” Planning your life around rumours about deliveries isn’t community. It’s scarcity management.
7. Quality didn’t matter, because choice didn’t exist. When there’s only one type of sausage, it doesn’t have to be good. When there’s only one brand of anything, the producer doesn’t compete for you. You compete for the product.
8. Equality was a slogan, not a reality. Officially, everyone was equal. Unofficially, some were “more equal,” and their equality came with better housing, better shops, better doctors, and better futures.
9. Collective responsibility meant individual guilt. One person messes up, everyone gets punished. One person speaks out, everyone gets threatened. It trains people to police each other, not support each other.
And the punchline: they still called it “care.” Not because it was caring, but because calling it care made it harder to argue with.
Tallinn occupied buy Societs.
Your life is nothing short of a miracle — the greatest gift in the universe — overflowing with potential that stretches far beyond what you currently believe is possible. When you embrace genuine gratitude for this extraordinary gift, your potential doesn’t just grow — it expands into limitless possibility. And when you release blame and judgment, when you take full ownership, love yourself unconditionally, and accept complete responsibility for everything that enters your life, something profound happens: you step beyond mere possibility and into probability.
Most importantly, this path leads you to your authentic self. And it’s there — in authenticity — that you uncover your true passion, your calling, and the only place real happiness resides.
Have a great day! 🙏😇
Had this feeling last two weeks or so. Upon reflection,
DO LESS TRADING.
Get order of operations right:
1) your mindset comes first before anything else and any trading. So a calm relaxed state which finds trading joyful. That needs to be achieved first and foremost. If you are feeling in a rush all the time, like you “need “ to do something - it’s a sign you’ve become attached to outcome which means with high likelihood you will sabotage your process. If you need to take a day off, do so. If The more fomo and tilt you feel the longer it takes “off the felt” (off the screens) to heal it. But generally 2/3 days of full rest should be sufficient. Everyone is different.
Contemplation in silence (meditation) upon the right state / config of the mind is fruitful during this time.
2) re focus on the basics and doing them right.
- what are the leading stocks? Do they have pivots? Are breakouts working ? Isolate what doesn’t matter presently … (someone else’s performance, how you missed huge movers).
3) elite stocks with proper buy points (or A/A+ setups only) = elite results. Repeat mantra.
4) protect confidence and mental capital. Overtrading in a choppy tape -> kills confidence and consistency —> will prevent you from maximising EV from 5* spots.
I could have just replaced (4) with “appreciate the value of patience”.
It’s simple things really, more nurture and centering of the mind. More patience. More consistency with doing simple tasks which are part of your process. Just need a timely reminder now and again. Hence check in with how you feel more often. Not feeling at ease? Go back to step (1) forget everything else.
Refocus on doing these things and down regulate focus on results and recent performance.
That’s my note to self too.
@paxtrader777 Great story, thanks for sharing it. It always gives hope, seeing that even great traders went through hard times, and that these experiences are what made them much better
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The one thing I always took for granted when I was younger is time. “Oh I won’t worry about that, I have plenty of time”, etc. Before you know it, time leaves you in the dust. You blink and a couple of decades have gone by. Action is more important than words, even if you don’t have everything figured out. Make the most of each day. As somebody put so well, “the ‘good ole days’ are happening right now”. Be grateful for this moment you are living today and take a second to celebrate all you’ve accomplished to get to where you are. “Spiral out… keep going!” HAGW 💪🏻