The Truth About Self-Discipline in Trading

Here’s my take on self-discipline: it’s not something you can measure easily. And a lot of what people call "lack of discipline" is actually just a lack of clarity. If you have a setup that you know works, discipline isn’t really the issue—you’ve got a script to follow.

I was recently talking to a fellow trader about this. We can both pick the right direction in the market, but sometimes we lack the skills to fully capitalize on it. Another trader we know does a better job of this, but it’s not because he has more discipline—it’s because he has developed different skills and a different psychology.

Discipline is just a reflection of your problems and how well you’re dealing with them. When you have fewer problems, it looks like you have more discipline. But the reality is, you’ve just solved some issues that others are still struggling with.

What most people call "self-discipline" is really the development of new skills. If you tend to overtrade, for example, the solution isn’t just willpower—it’s learning the skills to avoid those situations in the first place. Discipline happens when your subconscious and your plan are in alignment. You don’t "develop" discipline so much as you train yourself to reduce the interference between your plan and your execution.