Taking Mental Inventory

It’s the end of the year, a time when I often go through my mental inventory to try to catalog things I did well in the current year – and things I did badly. I then try to envision what doing more of the good and less of the bad would look like in the new year.

It sounds too simple.

And in theory, it is. Do more of what works and less of what doesn’t. Duh.

I can’t declare that this mental exercise solves all my problems and turns my trading account into an ATM that prints cash daily. But it is a muscle worth working on. That’s because the productive rabbit holes I’ll often go down will yield new ways to do the good things better. I'll even arrive at completely new ideas to try that may lead to even better results.

Maybe one thing to think about is – what do I fear? What am I afraid to do, try, or experience? And why does this trepidation exist? Is it well-founded and based on sound reasoning? Or is the fear of the unknown? I might think it’s the fear of failure, but maybe it’s the fear of success. Sounds crazy, but the fear of success is a real thing. Success can take us out of our comfort zone and that can be scary. Maybe I like being comfortable, and it weighs on my subconscious more than I think. Maybe I need to get comfortable with being uncomfortable.

What’s on your mind as you head into the new year? If you haven’t sat down to think, perhaps set aside a quiet hour with a pen and a few clean sheets of paper and start noodling. You might surprise yourself!

Trade 'em Well,

Sean McLaughlin
Chief Options Strategist
All Star Charts, Technical Analysis Research