I’m sure it’s a difficult grind having a career in a creative field such as stand-up comedy or being a writer. No matter how creative the person is, they still have to sometimes force themselves to sit down and find a way to come up with new material. No easy task. Perhaps one of the most famous stand-up comics is Jerry Seinfeld, and I think he has some great advice for finding a way through the day to day grind. Grind… that’s a word us traders often use as we wade through all the routine, process, review work, and losing trades in search of that next winner.
Seinfeld says, “Don’t break the chain!”
He knows he has to do a particular type of work, grinding, each and every day in order to wade through all the bad ideas, struggle with figuring out the timing or better punchline, etc in order to get to those hilarious gems he’s able to get to.
As traders, we should know we have to do the same. What is it that you’re not really sticking with doing that you fully know you should be? Is it a quality prep session before the opening bell? Is it journaling down thoughts and emotions during the session? Is it reviewing each and every decision you made that day to see what you’re doing well and where you’re under-performing?
So how do we “not break the chain”?
Simple. Seinfeld says to get a big daily calendar and put it up. He then marks a big red X over each day that he grinds out his proper work. The goal is to never break the chain of X’s!
In working closely helping others reach new levels of consistency and success in their trading over the past few years, I’m an absolute fan of simple things like this. I bet most people reading this article have already moved on in search of a hot and sexy new indicator that will revolutionize their trading by lunchtime tomorrow. I often say, first do the simple, then do the simple better, then simply be the best at doing the simple.
This trick can be a simple but powerful motivator to stay on the grind and do the work that needs to be done on a consistent basis to find new levels of success in trading.
Trade well,
Merritt
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