Why Can’t I Focus on One Trading Strategy?

Why can’t traders focus on one trading strategy? Here’s the question I got a few weeks ago…

“I’m trading too many strategies — I have the bad habit of changing strategies too often. I probably could be successful if I just focused on one strategy and put in the time, but I’m always getting distracted by other strategies, other markets, new indicators, etc.. I like variety, I love to learn, but I’m wasting time, losing money on my trades and I gotta get focused and on track – How do I break this bad habit?”

Why is so hard to focus and master one trading strategy?

I’ll show you why, and give you a 3-step process to break that bad habit in tonight’s video.

First, I think a lot of people are searching for perfect.

They want a 100% winning strategy without any risk. no losing trades, and the minute they take some heat or have a bad week, they assume their strategy doesn’t work, and they go back to YouTube looking for another guru to show them another “magic, never-lose, special indicator only $97” and they’re off to something new…

I think this also bleeds into a lack of determination.

Someone people may not expect perfect, but they “cut and run” as soon as things get tough.

Ive met a lot of people who suffer from this — everything looks great at first, but once they have to dust themselves off and get through some challenges, they give up and try something else.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news – but There will be tough days as a trader, and you will need to get back on the horse and get through them. Yes, trading is fun and exciting, but sometimes its painful and you need to push through that.

And remember – I have a solution for all this, so don’t give up on me yet – keep reading!

Next – I also think people jump strategies because they get bored – they want that dopamine rush that we get when we learn something new and exciting.

Its easy to see why a hard day in the markets leads to a youtube search for “the best indicator for scalping” and all of a sudden… “Oh my god, I didn’t know there was a secret formula thats accurately predicted every stock market crash of the last century… I need that indicator!”

All kidding aside – if you’re looking for excitement in the markets, go to a Casino. At least they have music, drinks, dancing –

The markets are work, and trading is hard — professional traders don’t trade for the excitement, they trade b/c they love the process, and the profits are the byproduct of that process. The process. Remember that, im gonna touch on that again later in this lesson…

This also blends into another reason people jump strategies…

They don’t have the focus muscles.

Ive talked about this in previous trading psychology lessons on this blog…

We live in a distracted environment. Between having busy lives, smart phones that make us stupid, social media, chat rooms, phone calls — most of us live in a constant state of distraction.

As I mentioned in previous videos – building your focus muscles means eating well, getting enough sleep, turning off the phone, blocking websites, leaving the chat rooms, and focusing on whatever task you have in front of you (for an extended period of time).

Its a lifestyle shift, and its not easy at first. Combine that with mindfulness work, such a Meditation and Yoga and you’ll BUILD those focus muscles quickly, so the next time you’re trading and things aren’t as exciting as you want them to be, you’ll have the strength to stay focused and not go searching google or going back to social media in search of another “shiny object” and a fresh hit of dopamine.

Im gonna talk about “shiny objects” more as we go deeper into this post, so keep reading!

And lasty – speaking of living a focused lifestyle…

I think a lot of people jump strategies too often b/c they have too many voices in their head.

You know – I just spoke a student of mine about this last week – he had way too much going on. Too many indicators, too many charts, too many ideas, too much of everything.

So I asked him “how many newsletters do you get in your inbox every day“?

he had over a DOZEN different “gurus” in his ear every day. All telling him different things using different tools with different strategies.

So I told him – go unsubscribe from all the other stuff you’re getting right now. DOnt worry, they’ll be there if you need them, but right now, you’re gonna focus on my 3-step strategy b/c it really works if you just use it, and not get distracted by whatever the “indicator of the month” is…

And that’s great advice — if youre having a hard time sticking to one strategy – get all those voices out of your had. Unsubscribe, remove the alerts, and if they keep sending you stuff, mark em SPAM!

I remember one of my mentors once telling me…

“Joe, you can do anything you want in life, just not at the same time.” And that’s exactly what we need to think about with trading. Let’s focus our energy (like that magnifying glass) on one strategy. Like my 3-step strategy. It works if you just work it!

So that’s why we jump from strategy to strategy — we have unrealistic expectations, we lack the guts to push through the tough stuff, and we dont have the focus muscles b/c we have too many voices in our heads.

Ok – Now let’s get into the good stuff…

How do we solve this problem?

Let me show you 3 steps…

(1) You gotta know your why.

I know this sounds corny, and its completely over-used, but it’s true.

Trading is hard work – is tough on your mind and your emotions —

if you dont WHY you’re getting early, WHY you’re staying late or working weekends, or dealing with the stress of having money at risk — you’re never gonna push through the hardest parts at the beginning of your career.

Now let me be clear — your WHY only works when you can SEE it, SMELL it, TASTE it.

I hear too many people say… “I want to provide for my family, or have the freedom to do whatever I want with my time.”

That’s great, and yes, trading with get you there — but give me some specifics!

What’s your day gonna look like when you’re consistently profitable? What bed are you waking up in? Where are you living? How are you spending your free afternoons when you’re reached your daily goal? What car are you picking up your kids from soccer practice? What vacations are you taking?

Give me some specifics! Get me excited! Dont just say… “i want a better life.” what does that really look like? What’s your day look like?

For me, when I about trading, I think about spending the day the way I WANT TO. Not some boss, or some customer. But what does that look like for YOU?

Make a vision board, or write it down and put it by your bed or desk to read in the morning… but make it VIVIDLY Clear why you’re pushing thru these challenges at the beginning of your trading career.

Next up – enough Tony Robbins (although I love him)… let’s get to work!

(2) Fall in love with the process, not the profits.

In my experience, successful trading requires morning preparation, discipline to execute the rules, and time for review – not only after you take your last trade, but also on Friday when the week is finished.

Knowing your WHY will help you push through the hard stuff — but you can make the hard stuff SO MUCH EASIER if you learn to find enjoyment in it.

And how do you find enjoyment? How do you make it fun?

Find the “game inside the game” — that’s the secret!

I recall reading a story about a guy who worked in a factory for something like 40 years, and when he retired someone asked him…

“how did you work in such a boring job for so long and not go crazy?” (anyone who’s done factory work knows this feeling!)

And ill never forget what he said… “I found ways to make it fun!”

And he did – he found the game within the game. he would challenge himself to see how fast or accurately he could do his job. He found enjoyment in setting a new personal record, or finding new ways to make the factory more efficient (no wonder they kept him for 40 years!)

This can easily apply to trading!

• Can you get so good at your morning prep that you accurately call what’s going to happen that day?
• Can you be so disciplined that you improve your winning ratios by 2% this month?
• Can you increase your average winner size by 10% Cut your losses by 20%

That’s how you make it fun! You dont focus on the money, you focus on the process, and challege yourself to improve that process!

You know – once you know your WHY, and you gameify the process – you’re not gonna be tempted to jump strategies…

That’s what I did — that’s how I learned to trade almost 15 years ago.

I found something that works, I geeked out on the process – fell in love with the morning prep, built my discipline through repitition each day, and found ways to improve my trading by 1% every day by finding the game inside the game…

And you know what – at the end of that process, I discovered that although the markets are complicated, they really arent that hard to trade and make money.

In fact, there are really only 3 things you need to learn… let me show you…

I call this my 3-step strategy, and its so simple…

(1) First, you need to know the market conditions that you’re dealing with today.

Yes, the markets are complicated. Yes, they’re always different. But you can always classify them into 1 of 2 categories each day.

We don’t trade the same way every day in our trade room — we always start by adjusting to whatever type of market we’re seeing that day, because that increases our odds of success!

(2) Second, once you know which type of market you have today – then you gotta find support and resistance levels that work best in those conditions.

Again, there are only 2 types of markets — and each of these market types has a specific set of S/R levels that work best.

Use the right levels, and you’ll have a much better chance of making money. Use the wrong levels, and your trades will fail more often. Simple as that.

(3) Third, once you know your day type, and you find your levels – then you’ll focus on entries that give you an EDGE in the market.

These entries use price-action (never lagging indicators) and they’re super easy to find b/c they usually happen in the same places (and the same times) almost every day!

If you wanna learn the strategy — and if you’re willing to COMMIT and FOCUS with me — Ill leave a link to learn my 3-step strategy below. Grab that link to learn the 3-step strategy.

Commit to the process, and you’ll be successful. I’ve helped a lot people succeed with this strategy already, and I know you can do it too.