I became a much better trader when I didn't try to make money everyday. Instead, I look and wait for the right setup, if I'm wrong, I get the hell out. I've been doing this about 10 years also. There is a fine line between making it and blowing out.
I'm a novice compared to you, but can already appreciate the wisdom of this statement. I swing trade futures mechanically and my favorite days are the ones where I don't make any trades at all because either 1.) I was positioned beforehand and the market moved the entire day in my favor, or 2.) My systems were smart enough to keep me from getting chopped in a sideways market. Great advice!
realizing what your mistakes are and how they are casued is possibly the most important aspect of profitable trading for the future. when the mistakes are made, its easier to get into the habit of ignoring these bad trades if you've turned your strategies into mechanical systems - somehow. thats how and why i went to systems trading years ago - it taught me to ignore the bad trades or at least get out of them before they went too far!