My biggest problem was that I started trading following a nice big dip in a relentless bull market. I traded to the long side only. There's a saying, "Everyone's a genius in a bull market." I thought that because I could buy dips and make money and I could buy new highs and make money, and never even have to use a stop loss, that I was a natural-born trading genius. What would've solved the problem for me would've been some failures during those first few months of brilliant trading. Sadly, the failures came after I'd already been been conditioned to believe that price always comes back. Never confuse luck (even a long, long string of luck) with a solid business plan. If you haven't explicitly defined your edge(s) and your plan for trading the edge(s), and proven in a simulated account that you have the ability to trade your plan day after day, week after week, then any profits you're making are very likely due to luck.