The Only Way Out is THROUGH

Sean McLaughlin
February 21, 2023

When I last wrote to you, I was mired in a spiral of frustration as I grappled with understanding what went wrong with one of my strategies, what I missed that opened the door to a larger-than-expected loss, and how to move forward.

I’m happy to report that I’ve come out the other side.

The only way out is through.

That’s always been true for me, at least.

My wife can attest: up until yesterday, for a week I’d been walking around like a grumpy zombie, lost in repetitive thought, running mind simulations of hundreds of scenarios and if/then situations. 99% of the ideas were just simple regurgitations of things I tried and failed at in the past. It takes tremendous effort for me to remind myself: been there, done that.

I often waste significant time and energy rehashing old tricks I’ve employed in the past that I’d already proven don’t work as intended. Being better about journaling and reviewing said journal regularly would probably help me out with this.

What helped turn the corner for me was

spending four hours, alone, on a hiking trail in the mountains.

It is amazing how often I can sort out life and work challenges by getting the blood pumping amongst the trees, wildflowers, vast wide open vistas, and deep mountain ravines while crunching dirt, rocks, and snow under my feet.

While in my zen zone, what began to percolate in my mind was an intricate, detailed, and multiple-stepped plan to course-correct and get my PnL curve heading back in the right direction. What is amazing (and is often the case), is that all this scheming eventually morphed into a breathtakingly simple and elegant solution to my problem. Thankfully.

Looking back, it’s almost comical how hard I was trying to make things work when such a simple tweak was all it took.

The end result is a simple set of steps that I’ll follow moving forward that don’t look at all worth the pain and frustration I’ve endured over the past week.

That’s how it goes sometimes. If I can’t laugh at myself, then I’m taking this game too personally. And that’s not a good place to be. Trust me.

I’m grateful for all of you who reached out to me and shared some frustrations (both past and present) that you’ve endured and how you worked through them. I drew strength from that and I appreciate you more than you know.

We’re all on the same team here. This isn’t a one-way street. We share, learn, and grow together.

Trade 'em Well,

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

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