How Mindset Helps Us Win

 

4/10/2026 - It's been fascinating to see who has done well--in terms of trading psychology and in terms of P/L--during this recent period of volatility, correction, and rebound in the stock market.  My most striking observation is that the most successful traders during this period are among the most successful traders in general.  They have succeeded by focusing on opportunity during periods of threat and focusing on threat during periods when they were making money.  The traders who have struggled have been rather uniformly optimistic or pessimistic.  It's the flexibility of perspective that has distinguished the recent winners.

For the recently successful traders, it's as if they are looking for what is stretched and where they might take profits or hedge when things go their way.  When things are going against them, they're looking for areas where good trades now are becoming great trades.  They are sized in such a way that they are never really big or small in an idea...they always leave room for getting bigger or smaller.  Instead of trying to predict how things will go in world events, they're creating multiple scenarios and preparing themselves to pounce once one of those is playing out.  

A flexible mindset creates flexibility in trading.