You say:
I want to be a professional trader. I need to work as hard as I can to accomplish that goal. I will outwork everyone at my firm or in my trading community.
There is a problem here. Catch it?
To accomplish your goal working as hard as you can will not help you accomplish your goals. That will lead to burn out.
Instead you must work hard AND smart. Consider this thoughtful and wise review from a developing trader, with just 16 days of trading experience, about working hard AND smart.
Personal Goals
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Earlier this month, I helped myself in a big way by getting to bed earlier. I began leaving the office about ten minutes earlier than I was so that I could catch a train that got me home about 45 minutes to an hour earlier. This allowed me to eat, workout and be ready for bed by my goal time of 10:30 each night rather than midnight. Getting up at 5 each day isn’t exactly fun, so as long as I am doing that, I need to make sure this is part of my routine and I am getting to bed at a reasonable hour. Leaving work at 5:20 rather than 5:30 isn’t preferable, but it makes a big difference in my ability to sustain myself mentally and physically.
Our improvement as traders is dependent on the best practices we turn into daily habits. It is not killing ourselves with a work schedule that is not sustainable, enjoyable, and rewarding.
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