@LoneStockTrader Spot on. Your system's edge isn't in your mindset, it's in knowing when the market is tradeable for YOUR rules. Everything else is noise.
Winners take little risk, losers take a lot, whether they call themselves speculators or long-term investors. The market doesn't determine your risk; you do.
@FranVezz Waiting isn't doing nothing, it's a skill. Buying near contraction instead of chasing the 10 EMA just means a tighter stop and lower risk per trade. Patience is risk control.
@mmonis The opportunity isn't in the size of the reward, it's in finding a low-risk idea and managing it well. Markets don't hand out generational wealth, disciplined risk control compounds it.
Commitment is congruency. You don't become a trader until the whole of you pulls in the same direction, a divided person sabotages himself in the middle of a position.
QQQ has closed down >4.5% on high volume while above its 200DMA only 8 times since 1999.
6 of 8 bounced. Median path: ~+5% by day 7, grinding toward ~+10% by day 20.
The 2 that failed (Feb & Sep '20) turned red within days.
Tiny sample. Not advice.