These last couple months have not been profitable; +$80 or so after commissions in December and +$90 or so after commissions in January. My journey is starting to get exciting because I am starting to understand what I am good at and what I am not good at. I have been keeping a trading journal over the last couple months regularly. I do think just sitting down each night and reviewing each trade I made along with including a screenshot of the chart with my entry and exit marked really is a big help for me. Every large loss except one over the last couple months have been intraday FOMO trades on strategies I just am not good at. I did buy $LLLI in the beginning of January when the Capital was stormed and took an overnight look at it. First Green Day on big news in troubled times, it really had potential of gapping up. Now, looking back at it--a lot of the challenge chat was in the play as well so it was def more overextended. I also chased the entry near the top AND averaged down on a couple dips going into the close so I was already too large in size and I let the adrenaline get the best of me. Not only did it not gap up, it gapped down. Now, my biggest failure this month and last month was not just entering the wrong set ups I am not good at but getting stubborn exiting them. One time I held through a dip and was able to "cut losses" intelligently on a bounce and break even. That was one time...Each time I did that in Dec and Jan I took big percent losses. I say that to say $LLLI was no different. As it fell I thought it would bounce. And it didnt. And when I thought it bottomed out... No bounce so by the time I sold, I was down 50% on the ticker and cut losses at the exact bottom right out of the open. It did bounce and go past my sell but it didnt go back to my average in the mid .06's. Each large loss this month was the same theme.... I was down OR the trade was going against my plan and instead of just cutting to save day trades, I let it ride a little to long and lose. So entering the wrong set up is a big no no for me right now while I am trying to build my account but getting stubborn on the same plays is a double no no. 

This year I have a goal in mind to just be profitable. I do not care how much I make, I do not care how fast my account grows... I just want to be profitable in some way shape or form. I want to stick to the plays I am good at (that I have also started tracking on my own spreadsheets now) which are afternoon FGD and multi-day/week/month/year breakouts, ideally bought in the afternoon on a morning run with some all day consolidation (swizzleee) I am also going to perfect my panic dip buying and the low float morning dip and rip pattern. Both these patterns I have traded successfully and feel comfortable with them but this year I am going to really add them to my strategy and get comfortable with them. I think part of my faults right now is I really love trading and just want to be in a trade all the time. This is not smart while trying to build an account so I want to focus only on my plays and if they aren't available, my goal is to spend time studying what is happening. I also plan on reading a book each month related to the market and trading. 

My short term goal for January is to work on my risk and exit. By taking good set ups that I am good at, this will be a little easier. But I can't keep taking 2-3 $250+ losses each month. It really ruins my mentality. So my short term goal for January is to focus on cutting losses fast. When in doubt or if trade is simply going against me... Just exit. My second goal in January is to let some of my winners run when overnight (unless my goals are obliterated of course for any particular trade) Cutting losses fast and letting winners run a little bit longer can really make an impact in my account size, and fast.