A little secret about the human mind and body as a whole. It never stands still, always needs to do something. And it will always gravitate towards doing something that gives it the quickest shot of achivement and dopamine.
We pretend to be sophisticated as a whole, but in truth we are just Monkeys.
Armed with this knowledge, it is high time that we give this monkey direction!
The Metaphor: Shredded Miad
To achieve discipline in decision making, one must restrict decisions.
Imagine “Miad,” a trader who overindulged during the holidays and now has a “round tummy” due to a lack of restrictions on food choices. To transform into “Shredded Miad,” he doesn’t rely on willpower at the refrigerator. He changes his shopping cart.
Before the Shop: He decides he will not even look at sugar or processed foods.
At Home: Because he only bought protein and greens, he is restricted to making healthy meals. He has removed the option to fail.
The discipline isn’t happening in the moment of temptation. It happened days earlier, in the supermarket aisle, when he walked past the biscuits without a second glance.
Discipline by substraction
Now that Miad has his fitness figured out, how does he repeat the process in trading?By removing options which builds discipline.
He can only create discipline by creating the environment for it. The keystone to creating a disciplined environment is limiting options by subtraction.
For Miad that means taking decisions away. Just like it is not an option to buy sugary drinks in the store, it is not an option to even look at the market or consider opening a trade if his internal state is not aligned. That means clarity of thought, no ego endorsement, and above all knowing exactly what that looks like for him.
The Trading Application: Decision Cone
Unprofitable traders fail because they have too many options: buy, sell, add, close, move to break-even. This leads to decision fatigue and emotional errors.
If Miad applies the same subtraction logic to his trading like his diet. He narrows his options to a single framework:
The Decision Formula: Internal State + Edge + Risk = Trade
Internal State: Is he psychologically ready?
Edge: Is there a recognizable market pattern?
Risk: Is the environment favorable (high probability)?
If any of these three are missing, it is not in his “shopping cart.” He does not have the option to trade.
Waiting for market to present a favorable pattern with high potential for returns. Understanding the risk environment: choppy flows, momentum, reversal. This takes time to develop, and every minute spent developing it is time well invested.
Once these decision inhibitors are in place, discipline is the only path.
Even for a Monkey.
Miad’s equity curve quickly reflects this.
Bonus: Discipline is removing the “if”
Most people live inside the word “if.”
If I have time.
If I feel good.
If I’m motivated.
If the day goes right.
That’s not a plan.
That’s a wish.
Remove the “if.”
You do it because you said you would.
That’s it.
Trade Strong
Miad
Txs mate good read