I believe this is going to be a key thing for me. Have a goal,,, right now that is to make $500 in a day,, hit it,, and then stop trading. I mean no trades, turn off computer, leave , go do something outdoors. Get away from Cell phone and computer so I am not tempted to trade. This to me is to treat it like a job. I am trying to make a living at trading. I can be profitable for the day and VERY often give it back as the day progresses. anyone do this kind of daily profit goal thing? thoughts? Yes, I know some will say why would you stop if you are trading well.
I think your entire notion is full of fallacies. Each trade is an independent event unto itself. I say, "catch as catch can".
Be consistent. Track. Let your trade history tell you. Don't close up shop if there's positive expectancy just because you reached a $ goal. You're going to need home runs to offset the strikeouts.
That, and forcing trades by having a daily profit objective. You may wish to treat your trading as a job, but the market has no such inclination on your behalf. Some days are generally better for trading than others. A relative few are really good. You need to take advantage of those good days. I remember something Marty Schwartz once either wrote or said: There are about 250 trading days in a year. About 200 days or so, you either make a nominal amount or maybe lose some. It's the other 50 days that really make a difference. Those are the ones you need to capitalize on. I haven't done my own breakdown, but the proportions seem reasonable.
I think the opposite strategy makes more sense. Any day that your reach a certain loss amount, shutdown for the day. Any day you are up, keep riding that horse.
DaveV is correct. The problem with a set PL is that when your system is working you will hit it and most likely exceed the goal. On the other hand, the days where your system is not working, you will have a negative day and continue to go negative, unless the market changes*. But all this assumes you are consistent and follow a plan. If you are changing mid day, especially, off plan, based on your PL, then all bets are off. Consider: Get a plan and be consistent executing it. That way you will not be trading on "shifting sands" and can get some valid feedback. I.e. this "set goal" stuff is too early for you to use. Otherwise, if you are going full discretionary: set a goal and stop when you hit the goal 3x. set a max loss and don't violate it. Lastly consider a "tractions mode" where you change-chase the PL, with only the highest probability trades, when needed. Lots for you to think about. Best of luck. *the market changes a lot in the day, so perhaps what you are seeing is what works in the AM is not working in the PM. Consider having multiple trading modes based on the time of day, market action thus far, and lastly state of PL. Yes, I know a lot more work, but consider MOST people will not be willing to do the work.
Provided that your winning streak doesn't backfire on you. But we all know that we usually push our luck too far and end up giving back all of the gains for the day, if not more. I think that's what the OP is implicitly saying.
The goal should be CONSISTENCY. Are you currently profitable every day? If so, what is your current average daily profit? If you're up $1000 one day but only up $200 the next day, followed by a losing day of $400, then you have a problem.