March 04, 2026

Again, someone asked whats your lesson your learnt from your failures ?

I was thinking, then while answering him, i also want to share with everyone here ....


I failed so many evals, blown so many PAs, but still i am here... i am still making mistakes once in a while, atleast instead every day.

Then following are "NOT TO DO" - from my own habits and whenever BIG FAILURE happen, i noticed, definitely ONE OF THESE , popped up. thats why i failed .

They are

1. Trading in the evening/night: between 6 PM EST to 9.30 AM EST It never worked for me-> Action Item: Dont trade strictly in evenings/overnights.

2. Whenever i add subsequently , average more, then go above 5 to 10 mnqs, i feel i become mentally stick to my direction , and market punished me several times , as i am not flexible during this behavior -> Action Item: Dont average, or dont go above 5 mnq ANYTIME

3. Though sometime when 8 cross 34 bullish way upward, but i was holding the Short position sometime, then i become adamant and not closing or cutting the losses. -> Action Item: dont marry your own position/direction, if things dont work, or market changed direction then cut it immediately, obey 8 cross 34


4.I always fail if i trade continuously more than 1 hour, sometime after 5 hours , i might be losing a lot from my profit cushion, or came to same initial opening balance, but the time i spent is totally spoiled , and blown many times ->Action item: take breaks, dont trade every hour. must take atleast 20 min break.


These were the main root-cause or mistakes i did, and learnt during my past big failure or even any failure, falls into one of the above category. now i just have to believe in following what "NOT TO DO"

Whats your action item from reading this ?
list down urs, and make sure u follow what not to do, rather than what u should do

Coming back to today trading journal: I did not seriously spent enough time, i just followed one strategy thats 8/34 ema, and went with direction, here is mine, again I am still learning the market everyday.... surprises are coming that will test my patience, test my discipline ,.... but i know one of those listed bad behavior must be driving or giving me the surprise.... so lets beat it, and win together everyone here.

supertradersam 

I failed so many evals, blown so many PAs, but still i am here... i am still making mistakes once in a while, atleast instead every day.

@supertradersam,

That right there is the line that matters most. Still here, making mistakes less often. That is what progress actually looks like.

Your "NOT TO DO" framework is sharper than most traders realize. Behavioral psychology research shows negative rule sets ("don't do X") work better than positive ones for impulse control under stress. Your brain processes "stop" signals faster than "start" signals when adrenaline is running.

A couple things stood out:

Rule #2 - Averaging down is the big one. When you add to a loser, you're not just increasing risk - you're triggering what psychologists call "commitment escalation." The more size you pile on, the harder your brain fights to admit the trade is wrong. Your 5 MNQ hard cap is solid because it's a concrete number. Concrete beats vague every time.

Rule #4 - Break frequency matters more than people think. Decision fatigue research shows cognitive performance drops hard after 45-90 minutes of continuous high-focus work. Professional prop desks typically enforce 1-2 hour trading blocks with mandatory breaks. Your 20-minute reset after an hour lines up with the data.

One thing I'd add to your list: tag which rule you broke when a loss happens. Not just "I lost money today" but "I violated Rule #3 - held short through the 8/34 cross." After a few weeks you'll see which rule gets broken most often. That's your real edge leak, and knowing it makes the fix specific instead of vague.

The fact that you went from daily mistakes to occasional ones means the framework is working. Keep the list short, keep it visible, and keep showing up.

TGIF! Have a good weekend!

-- Fi

"The rules that keep you in the game matter more than the setups that make you money."