How Well Do You Coach Your Own Trading Performance?

 

8/11/2026 - Every trader is their own coach:  how we talk to ourselves and how we spend time previewing and reviewing markets *is* our self-coaching.  A worthwhile question to ask is:  If we coached a new trader in the way we coach ourselves, how well would they develop?  Alternatively, if we coached someone in the gym the way we coach our own trading, how well would they develop?  Many traders are far too informal in their self-coaching, so that they never truly challenge themselves and grow.

The first dimension of successful self-coaching is structure.  We don't hesitate to structure our trade ideas, spelling out entries, exits, sizing criteria, etc.  But how well do we structure our own coaching?  What kind of notes do we take before trading starts, during trading, and after?  How do we draw upon these notes to identify what we saw well and what we missed?  How do we review the trades that we took to see how well we could improve what we did?  How do we turn that review into action plans for the next day?

Look at workouts and practice sessions among sports teams or after action reviews by military squads.  There is nothing informal about it.  There is structure and there is purpose.  Everything is geared to improve performance going forward.  The coaching is motivational:  sometimes encouraging, sometimes a kick in the behind.  But there is always structure, going over performance in detail to highlight what we do well and what we could do better.