“Everyone needs a reminder from time to time. Stay in the pocket and keep pushing. […] Discipline is freedom, but the confidence you build through the discipline is where the real freedom is.”

Marques Johnson —

When you are in a groove or momentum is thriving for you, do you ever take the time to evaluate what you’re doing on a regular basis throughout your day that’s allowing you to have supreme focus and consistency with your productivity? 

Every now and then when I’m doing really well in trading, within my fitness, mindset or just life in general, I like to take a step back and ask myself, what do I think is working well for me to perform at this level. Then once I take note of what my daily routine is in the morning, what I do prior to calling it a day or even intraday, I like to write it down. So, when there’s a time when things get off track, I can always go back to check on what I was doing prior to this slippage.

I would say a lot of this has to do with self-confidence and I know we have brought this subject up on numerous occasions through Tackle Trading but when I ask myself how I feel in these moments, it’s the only word that really comes to mind for myself. Just being real, the confidence I have today I did not always have naturally. It’s definitely something that has been built over time for me just by trial and error of life trying to figure out what I want to do and most of all “who was I?”. It’s a quality that I have worked on ever since I found a true sense of identity for myself and a lot of that was built through the gym for me and once trading was introduced to me, it brought a lot of things full circle to me mentally.

Without question, I believe I have something that challenges me mentally and physically every single day which allows me to stay sharp just as an individual. Now with that said there’s always room to grow and improve and the older I get, the more appreciative I am of knowing that I still have a long way to go because it’s an opportunity to be a better trader, trainer, a son or just a better person overall. This may sound cheesy to some, but it’s something I plan on doing moving forward and that is to write down how I feel when I’m feeling my best all-around so I can reflect on this throughout the year. It’s a motivational tactic that I believe will keep you discipline to resist temptation such as not taking that extra premium over higher probability or deciding between the chicken salad and the Chick-fil-A.

This level of self-discipline will create the freedom and confidence that we all are trying to harness. That is why I force myself to watch or listen to anything trading related on a daily basis to keep things sharp for myself because I know that once I’m in and out one particular subject, my decision making isn’t nearly as clear as it should be and that’s not a good feeling to have because at the end of the day there is no one else to blame but myself. 

Everyone needs a reminder from time to time. Stay in the pocket and keep pushing. The goal line will continue to stretch but remember that processes and methods you use over time are the keys to staying on the path. Right now, I challenge myself to do this when I’m struggling, and I challenge you to do the same when you’re in a good place. This is a strategy that is best when you want to use it as a safety net to lean on for when you’re having a rough day.

The last thing I’ll leave you with that someone once told me was that discipline is freedom, but the confidence you build through the discipline is where the real freedom is.

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Marques Johnson. Full-time Trader.

I’m from Virginia and I grew up in a military home where I was raised by two parents who provided me the best of both worlds from how to be a good person and how to be self-sufficient in life. I’ve been trading for three years now and each year there’s always something significant I learn because the markets are changing all the time. I particularly focus on trading stock and futures options but trading isn’t the only thing I’m passionate about. Fitness is a significant aspect of my life and personal training is what I do throughout the day, so the balance of trading and fitness is a great mix for me mentally and physically which keeps me motivated every day.

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