6 Underrated Signs You're Evolving into a Top Trader
Real progress is in the shifts you don’t see. Here’s how to spot them.
Are You Trading at Your Full Potential?
Lucas had been trading for almost two years.
He wasn’t a complete beginner—he had a structured routine, tracked his trades, and was committed to improvement. Every morning, he reviewed his playbook. Every evening, he journaled.
But there was one problem.
No matter how much effort he put in, his P&L didn’t reflect it.
One day, after a losing session, he messaged me:
“I don’t get it. I feel like I’m making progress, but my results don’t show it. How do I know I’m actually improving?”
Lucas was experiencing what almost every trader faces at some point and maybe you’re in this position right now.
You’re doing everything right but there’s no hint you’re on the right path so you begin questioning your approach—and that’s when you are most likely to abandon what was actually working.
This is how most traders sabotage themselves—not because they aren’t improving, but because they don’t know how to measure their improvement.
So they default to the only feedback available—outcomes.
But P&L is a lag indicator of growth.
Traders keep walking forward, but with no clear direction—like stumbling through a dark room, hoping they don’t hit a wall.
But once Lucas started tracking the right type of feedback with lead indicators, everything changed.
He stopped second-guessing himself.
He gained confidence in his path forward.
And most importantly—he traded with clarity.
The biggest breakthroughs in trading are invisible—until you know where to look.
Today, I’ll show you six hidden signs of progress that most traders miss. If you spot any of these, you’re on the right track—whether your P&L agrees or not.
Let’s break them down.
Hidden Sign #1: Reduced Friction
Daniel, a trader I worked with, had a habit of impulsively jumping into fast-moving markets.
He knew it was a problem, but in the heat of the moment, he couldn’t stop himself.
Then, one day, something changed.
He messaged me:
"The market made a huge move, and I felt the urge to jump in… but I didn’t. For the first time, I just watched it happen."
For him, that was a breakthrough.
Have you ever had a day where you didn’t react impulsively to something that normally triggers you?
These are the days you need to track.
Because, in essence, you just handled a trigger successfully—and within that moment lies the key to breaking free from it.
In the beginning of every traders career, each session feels like a battle against old habits—impulses, hesitation, overtrading. Many traders get stuck in a cycle of:
Progress → Relapse → Frustration → Repeat
But if you stick with the right process (and you do this by having lead indicators in place), something shifts:
The same triggers start losing their grip.
The mental resistance fades.
You no longer feel like you’re fighting every session.
This is a huge milestone—a sign that your brain is rewiring.
Your progress isn’t measured in how many “good” days you have—it’s measured in how you handle moments that test you.
Not every trading day will trigger you. But when it does, that’s your moment to track your response.
Next time you react differently to a trigger, don’t brush it off. That’s your real progress.