The importance of preparation and review that I realize at this age
A trade that is not recorded is as if it never happened
Trades that are not recorded fade to memory’s distance and leave nothing behind.
Months or years after you started trading. How many trades have you made so far? Of those, how many are recorded in your records?
Most people would probably answer, "Almost none are recorded." You enter, you close, you see whether you won or lost, and move to the next trade. In this repetition, past trades become buried in memory and eventually disappear.
This is a very wasteful thing.Trades that are not recorded do not accumulate as experience.You repeat the same mistakes many times and forget the same insights many times. If there are no records, even after 100 trades your skill remains almost the same as the first one.
Why records create experience
Human memory is surprisingly unreliable. Even the details of yesterday’s trade become vague today. A week ago, a month ago, you probably don’t remember most of the trades.
Moreover, memories distort themselves to suit us. Winning trades are beautified as “my own skill,” while losing trades are justified as “the market was unfavorable.” Returning to these distorted memories won’t lead to correct improvements.
Records prevent this ambiguity and distortion.If you write down the reason for entering, the market conditions at that moment, and the reason for exiting, you can review objectively later.Only when you have records does trading become “experience.”
What happens to traders who have no records
Traders who do not keep records share common problems.
First,growth stops.Because they cannot review past trades, they don’t know what was good or bad. Therefore there is no room for improvement. The number of trades increases, but their level remains the same.
Next,they cannot see their weaknesses.“In what situations do I lose more often?” “When do I break the rules?”—these become visible only through accumulating records. Without records, you cannot notice your patterns.
Andthey cannot feel growth.Without records, you don’t know whether you are improving. You keep trading without a sense of progress. At this state, motivation also won’t last.
【People without records】
→ Repeating the same mistakes, ability remains nearly flat
【People with records】
→ Realize losing patterns and continuous improvements accumulate
Even with the same number of trades, growth speed is completely different depending on whether you keep records.