One Rule, One Goal

People are simple creatures. Science has already proven that our brains are terrible at multitasking.

In fact, studies from Stanford University (Ophir, Nass, & Wagner, 2009) show that people who think they’re good at multitasking actually perform worse on tasks requiring focus. Yet we keep trying to juggle too many things at once.

Think of your goal list. Really picture it in your head. Chances are, it feels overwhelming. Too many goals, too much noise. What if I told you there’s a better way?

Let’s bring this into trading. Imagine you want to change your behaviour. You know you have traits holding you back - maybe revenge trading after a loss or hesitation to enter trades even when your plan gives the signal. Both are major obstacles. But can you realistically fix them at the same time?

The answer is no. Change doesn’t work that way.

Research on behavior change (Prochaska & DiClemente’s Stages of Change model, 1983) shows that sustainable progress happens step by step. Trying to tackle two deep-rooted habits at once spreads your attention thin and often leads to failure.

That’s why I approach my own goals differently. At the beginning of each year, I write down everything I want to achieve. Then I break it down. Each big goal is split into smaller, actionable steps - and I tackle them one by one.

This isn’t just more practical. It dramatically increases your probability of success.

Psychologists Locke & Latham (2002) found that clear, specific goals lead to significantly higher performance compared to vague or overloaded ones. And when you hit those smaller milestones, you also feel good - the brain releases dopamine, reinforcing your progress and motivating you to keep going.

Trading, like life, is not about fixing everything at once. It’s about building consistency through focused action. One change at a time. One step at a time. That’s how you create lasting growth.

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The 3% Chart View: Learning from the Mistakes

I was travelling this week, so naturally I made a few mistakes along the way. Sometimes the best way to deal with the urge to “fix” mistakes is simply to accept them and keep going.

I wasn’t too happy with two of the trades I took - one is still floating around a –0.6R loss, and the other closed at –1R. I honestly don’t think I would’ve taken either of them if I had been trading from home, but that’s part of the game.

Overall, I’m still sitting at +6% for the moment. We’ll see what happens in the next few days - the open trade might reverse, who knows.

What I really want to highlight is this: people love to say that trading while travelling is the dream. But the more I travel and trade at the same time, the more I see how many extra mistakes I make.

Last year I spent three months in Thailand, and it took me a few weeks to fully adapt - once I settled into a routine, everything was fine. But if you go on a short, intense trip like I did now (and I travel in a very active way), trading becomes much more difficult.

With my current swing/intraday approach it’s a bit easier than it used to be when I was scalping, but still… trading on the move is far from easy.

Current stats:

• 11 Wins

• 5 BE’s

• 2 Partial Losses

• 3 Full Losses

- Luke FT.