When Life Puts Pressure on Your Trading
The Thursday Trader's Tip edition offers to-the-point trading performance advice that can be read under 5 minutes.
It’s already this Saturday! I’m hosting a live session on Unlearning the Mind Programs Holding Back Your Trading Success.
Bring your questions and your best learning mode. Looking forward to seeing you there!
(Apparently my scheduling skills took a day off, this post was meant for yesterday!)
Last year, after the fire incident, my life took a turn. I was forced to step back from trading and work in general.
But even then, I found myself offering massive resistance to that pause. I felt unproductive, like I was missing out on life, profits, and progress.
I wasn’t okay with being stopped.
Part of me knew I needed to take a break. But another part didn’t want to accept it. It felt like stepping away would cost me everything I had worked so hard to build.
When I returned in September 2024, there was an adaptation period (I talk more about that return in this post). That phase was necessary to get back in sync. But at the time, it brought immense pain— I questioned whether my skillset had disappeared. I felt disconnected from the market. Lost, off-track, and unsure…
Eventually, I got back in sync and life returned to normal.
Throughout your trading career, you might’ve experienced moments like this too—life events that put you to the test, both as a person and as a trader.
These moments are normally out of your control—you don’t get to choose them. But they impact you deeply. And without realizing it, your internal landscape starts to shift… and with it, your trading performance.
Many traders respond by trying to push through as if nothing’s changed, just like I attempted to do at first. They try to maintain the same pace, pressure, and expectations. This almost always leads to more mistakes.
Because when you're under life pressure, what you need isn’t more force. You need adaptability.
3 Important Questions to Ask Yourself
When clients go through pressure-filled seasons, we adjust.
Here are three essential questions for you in these moments:
What’s in your control and what isn’t? This question brings clarity; it helps direct your focus where it matters.
What would help you handle this period better? Do you need shorter sessions? Fewer trades? Smaller size? Time off? How is the event affecting your mental side, and what do you need to give to yourself to return to balance? The goal is to support your capacity, not stretch it further.
Do you need to adapt your execution right now? If you choose not to make a pause, now’s the time to trade only A+ setups, adjust your risk, and define what success looks like under current conditions.
Adaptation is needed not only when market conditions shift but also when your mental landscape shifts.
One Action Step for You
If you're currently facing something that’s pulling on your mental energy, ask yourself:
What’s one adjustment I can make this week to protect my trading from unnecessary pressure?
It might be fewer trades. A shorter session. Or simply releasing the expectation to trade perfectly right now.
Remember: you’re not a robot executing, you’re a human, and that’s part of your edge.
The paid version of The High-Performing Trader gives you deeper tools and frameworks I use with clients to navigate pressure. Upgrade now:
Peaceful trading,
Sara
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