Trading Journal
A systematic record of every trade with entry rationale, outcome, and emotional state — the most underused tool in most traders' arsenals.
A trading journal is a systematic, honest record of every trade you take: entry price, exit price, position size, setup type, entry rationale, and — critically — emotional state at the time of the decision. Without it, you cannot distinguish luck from skill, or identify the exact failure modes in your process.
Most traders skip journaling because it is uncomfortable. It makes every deviation visible. It prevents the comfortable narrative that a bad trade was purely bad luck. That discomfort is precisely why it works.
A minimum journal entry: date, instrument, setup name, entry/exit, result in R, whether you followed your rules (Y/N), and what emotion was dominant. Review weekly. Look for patterns in both losses and rule breaks — those patterns are your actual trading problems.
Related Terms
Discipline
The ability to execute your trading plan without deviation, even when emotions scream at you to do something different.
BeginnerDiscipline Slippage
The gradual erosion of trading rules over time — small exceptions that compound into a completely undisciplined approach.
IntermediateEmotional Trading
Making buy or sell decisions based on how you feel rather than on pre-defined rules and objective market conditions.
BeginnerHindsight Bias
The belief, after the fact, that the outcome was obvious all along — distorting post-trade reviews and inflating false confidence.
IntermediateProcess vs Outcome
Evaluating trades by whether you followed your rules — not by whether they made money — because good process produces good outcomes over time.
IntermediateRevenge Trading
Taking impulsive, oversized trades immediately after a loss in an attempt to win the money back — almost always making things worse.
BeginnerSelf-Sabotage
Unconsciously undermining a good strategy through rule-breaking, oversizing, or quitting at the worst possible time.
IntermediateTilt
A state of emotional destabilisation — borrowed from poker — where recent losses drive irrational, increasingly reckless trading behaviour.
IntermediateTrading Plan
A written document that defines your entry criteria, exit rules, position sizing, and daily loss limits before the market opens.
Beginner