The Hidden Enemy of Trading Success: Why Rushing Will Cost You Everything

Trading is not a sprint. It's not even a marathon. It's a journey without a fixed destination—an endless pursuit of mastery that rewards patience above all else. Yet time and again, I witness talented, dedicated traders sabotage their potential with a single, devastating mistake: they rush.

The Allure of the Fast Track

I recently came across a trader's painful confession on social media. After taking a 40-day break, he passed five prop firm trading evaluations in just three days—an impressive feat. Then, in a single devastating day, he blew through all five funded accounts, burning through $1,000 (in setup fees) with little income to show for it.

His words cut deep: "With no other income coming in other than from driving, this isn't fun anymore. If it doesn't spark joy, get rid of it."

What struck me wasn't just the loss, but his response to another trader who questioned why he didn't trade the accounts one by one: "It's a matter of not having time. So the actions must scale."

I felt a pang of recognition. I've been there—we've all been there. That desperate feeling that the clock is ticking, that success should have already arrived, that we need to force results now.

The Clock That Doesn't Exist

After trading my own capital for 10 years and mentoring countless traders, I can tell you with absolute certainty: the timeline you've created in your head is a fiction. The market doesn't care about your schedule. It doesn't know you've given yourself six months to "figure it out." It won't suddenly become more generous because you're running out of savings.

The cruel irony? This self-imposed pressure leads to exactly the outcome you're trying to avoid—failure.

When we rush, we:

• Take trades that don't meet our criteria

• Increase position sizes beyond what's prudent

• Ignore stop losses or move them further away

• Chase entries after missing ideal setups

• Overtrade out of boredom or desperation

The $20 Revelation

My own breakthrough came not from a grand strategy or sophisticated indicator. It came from surrender.

After months of frustration, I asked myself a simple question: "What if I could just make $20 a day?"

That's it. Not a life-changing amount. Not enough to quit my job. Just $20.

Many of our current mentorship group members and frequently livestream viewers have heard me speak about this before. This thought transformed everything. It forced me to slow down. To be selective. To honor my process. To respect the market.

Before long, I was making multiples of that modest goal—but only because I'd stopped demanding immediate results. I'd given myself permission to grow gradually, to compound my skills and my account at a sustainable pace.

Breaking the Rush Cycle

If you recognize yourself in this story, here are tactical steps to shift your mindset and improve your results:

1. Micronize Your Goals

Set a daily profit target so small it almost seems pointless. $20. $50. Whatever feels almost too easy. This isn't about limiting your upside—it's about removing the pressure that leads to bad decisions.

When you hit your number, consider stopping for the day. This discipline builds the muscle of walking away while you're ahead—a rare skill among traders. If you find yourself struggling with stopping while you’re ahead,, many broker platforms have a lockout feature that will lock you out of trading for the session after you have hit this goal.

2. Trade Smaller Than You Think You Should

If you believe your appropriate position size is 2 contracts, trade 1. If you think you should risk 2% per trade, risk 1%. This creates psychological space to make decisions based on your strategy, not your emotions.

3. Institute a Five-Minute Pre-Trade Process

Before the market opens, take 5 minutes to center your mindset. Use this time to:

• Write down your exact entry, stop, and target if your ideal scenario pans out

• Identify what would invalidate your setup and game plan

• Assess whether this trade truly meets your criteria - Is it actually an A+ trade?

This simple delay interrupts the impulsive cycle of FOMO trading.

4. Track Process, Not Just Profits

Create a daily scorecard that measures how well you followed your trading plan, not just how much money you made. Rate yourself on:

• Trade selection quality

• Position sizing discipline

• Stop loss adherence

• Management according to plan

A day where you made money but broke your rules is a failure. This is a very tough realization for developing traders, and human nature in general. A profitable day typically triggers our feedback loop into thinking that it was a good trading day. A day where you lost money but followed your process perfectly is a success.

Pro tip: If you need a tool for tracking your process, check out TraderVault.

5. Extend Your Timeline Dramatically

Whatever timeframe you've given yourself to "make it" as a trader, triple it. Seriously. If you think you need 6 months, give yourself 18. If you think a year, make it three.

This single mental adjustment removes the desperation that fuels bad decisions.

The Truth About Trading Mastery

Trading is uniquely challenging because success isn't linear. You don't get better by 1% each day. You struggle for what feels like forever, then experience sudden breakthroughs. These breakthroughs only come when you've invested the time to develop the pattern recognition and emotional discipline the market demands.

The real secret? The trader who's willing to make $20 a day will ultimately make far more than the trader desperately trying to make $1,000.

The trader who gives themselves three years to master this craft will succeed where the "six-month millionaire" inevitably fails.

Trading rewards the patient, the disciplined, and those humble enough to respect the market's timeline—not their own.

So ask yourself: What could you achieve if you stopped rushing? What trader could you become if you gave yourself the gift of time?

Your future success might depend on how you answer.