I have read somewhere that it is important to come up with the right metaphor for your trading. Some think of themselves as snipers, some as gardeners, etc. I will start the ball rolling ... I think of trading as fishing ... There's plenty of fish in the sea ... I try to catch enough to make it worthwhile ... I respect the sea and am humbled by it. All I have is my primitive hook and some skills.
Don’t respect the sea. Be the sea. Yes I am small. But I am play on the right side. My team is working the market. For me. I am the one who knocks. Think this way and you will no longer feel powerless.
Proper trading is like counting cards in black jack. That is, when the "deck is in your favor, bet/bet bigger". Of course you have to know when that is. You also have to know when the market/issue is in your favor for a trade. There is lots of noise in the market, but it's not all noise.... and there is much "can't see the forrest for the trees".
I understand what you are saying, but I am not sure what you are suggesting is called trading(as most of us here define it). What is your avg holding time?
As a child we had Checkers/Draughts. Trading reminds me of that, you can win or lose your pieces, the more you win gives you more power, capturing your opponents is the purpose, if you lose your pieces you are out of the game. Learn the strategies, learn how your opponent thinks, practise.
Keep an eye on daily/weekly resistance/support. That's where you need to either stop the current fishing or begin new fishing. A lot of people lose money because they did not close their position at key areas. Easy and Simple.
Trading is like trading and nothing else... ..... crossing an ocean ...... many begin by simply swimming, many stop after the first strokes, tired and disappointed: muscles have not grown suddenly, time is lost; others are stopping by getting into the high waves without even learning how to swim, then they go around saying that it is impossible... someone drowns, refusing to hear about life vests (capital management), and so journeys begin - failures, successes, practice, stuggles, and joy and finally, then, someone is on the boat, and happy to be sailing whole life, another is on a superyacht, there are many who are crossing on cargo or on cruise ships, and even always getting paid...will they ever have the same experience like their passenger, who started by swimming and now is crossing the ocean in a suite? ... only very few are finding enjoyment in continuing to cross by swimming, delighted to recognize good weather, own strength, and growth... the weather ... you learn to swim with your own body when the weather is favorable ... another has hurricane-proved knowledge-vehicles ... .somebody else will wait for a quiet time...
He who has not the mental flexibility should not be trading. Right now the sp500 is undervalued by a double. What’s the point of jumping in and out. Time frame is only a function of situations. When I started the thread ‘are we going to run out of shares’ qqq was at 105. How many brilliant ETers have made that kind of return by jumping in and out. We are here to make money. If someone understood what I was saying in 2006 and acted accordingly he could be sitting pretty right now You only need to catch 1-2 super cycles to be set for life.
You also need to have lots of money and time(to be set for life). Unfortunately, it's very hard to distinguish luck from skill here. Maybe you are that good and maybe you were just lucky, it would take decades to find out. That's not trading, that's investing.