It's crazy how different this market is from the one we saw towards the end of last year and the first two months of this year. I'm really struggling to find good setups lately, which is why I've been trading so little and taking small gains and small losses. I'm trying my best to not trade in this slow market so that I can preserve my monetary and mental capital for when there is a good setup and/or the market heats up again. This is something I though I understood my first year of trading, but I didn't fully grasp the realness and importance of it until now. 

 

After making the kind of money I've made this year so far, it's easier to sit back and relax knowing what is possible when the setups are there. In the first 3.5 months of this year so far I've been able to make about $82,000 USD, which is way more than I would make at most 9-5 jobs for the entire year. Now, that doesn't mean that I'm going to take the rest of the year off. But it does mean that I don't have to force trades to make a buck. In fact... I shouldn't either way. Whether you've already made a yearly salary or haven't made anything at all, the best thing you can do in times like this is to accept that a slow market can only bring losses and frustration if you're too aggressive and have the wrong expectations. I need to make a conscious effort to take the experiences and lessons I've learned this past year and contrast them with the current market environment to prevent me from overtrading. In the past I didn't know what a slow or hot market looked like and so I kept trying different things and nothing worked. Despite all the studying, I was slowly draining my account and my enthusiasm for the game. Then a hot market came around and everything changed for me, I was finally able to apply everything I'd learned. I'm just glad it came before the slow market took me out. 

 

Now the market is slow again, but now I can recognize that because I have experienced both. Now I don't try to force trades in slow market environments. I don't want to let a slow market discourage me from trading a future hot market, because I know the opportunity is insane. I would much rather protect my gains, take advantage of this time to study and refine my process, and prepare for the next hot market.

 

So I guess what I'm trying to say is this... If you're just starting out and have not experienced both slow and a hot markets, don't be discouraged if nothing is working right now. The market will heat up again, you just have to make sure you have the right mindset for when that happens.