“Why Do I Trade Differently When I’m Close To a Payout?”
The change isn't external, it's internal..
What’s up everyone and a big welcome to everyone new here!
My last YouTube video was my best-performing one yet, and we saw an influx into our inner circle, which I’m always humbled to see!
If you haven’t already checked out my YouTube channel, I’m dropping tonnes of sauce there!
Check out last week’s drop here (which really resonated with everyone):
And this week’s drop here:
Onto this week’s question!
This week, a trader asked me..
“Why do I trade differently when I’m close to a payout?”
Honestly, I smiled when I read this one because I've had this conversation with so many traders who have gotten close to a payout.
The funny thing about this is the market hasn't changed.
In a lot of cases, your strategy hasn't changed.
Your edge hasn't disappeared.
Your setup is basically the exact same one you've taken dozens of times before..
The only thing that's really different is what's going through your mind.
You now feel like you're one tree away from a payout.
One more winner and the money is yours.
The moment this happened, suddenly every decision felt heavier.
This creates subtle behavioural changes:
Checking your P&L more often
Moving your stop to breakeven
Closing trades before they reach their full target
Becoming too aggressive to get you past the ‘finish line’
If you have ever passed a challenge or traded a funded account, I'm sure you've experienced this at some point..
Where It Begins
You might be surprised to hear that I actually don't think this is to do with discipline in a lot of cases.
It's everything to do with attachment.
The closer we get to something we want the harder it becomes to think clearly.
The payout stop becoming another byproduct of good trading - it becomes the goal.
This is where everything changes.
Because now you're no longer focused on executing your edge - you're focused on protecting or chasing an outcome you can't control.
I know it's cliché, but the more you think about the payout the harder it actually becomes to reach it.
Most of you in this situation on no longer trading the markets, you're trading your expectations.
The Big Difference
The one clear distinction that I see between winners and losers is that struggling traders attached themselves to milestones.
Whereas profitable traders attach themselves to the process.
Again and with most things, it's a subtle shift, but it completely changes everything.
The reality is the market doesn't know or doesn't care about how close you are to payout.
The probabilistic nature of the markets hasn’t changed.
The honest truth is that one payout is not going to change your life.
Therefore, the idea of a payout shouldn't change how you trade.
If the thought of it does, it should be a wake-up call to understand that you're focused too much on the short term and not zooming out far enough.
Processes within your control.
Outcomes are outside of your control.
No amount of knowledge, analysis or screen time will ever change that.
Reflection
So the next time you find yourself one treat away from a potential payout - ask yourself this..
As the market actually changed?
Or
Has your relationship with the outcome changed?
More often than you will find that the real battle is not external, it's internal.
Expect that this shift will happen and start preparing for it.
Creating awareness of what is likely to happen internally is the first point of call to preventing this in real time..
Over and Out!
"Last month, my account was down by 8%. I never looked at my portfolio—I just kept executing my edge. Last week, I recovered back to breakeven. But as soon as I looked at my account balance, I thought, 'I'm only two winning trades away from passing the phase.' I think that thought changed my mindset, and my account went back to a 6% drawdown."
Creating awareness of what is likely to happen internally is the first point of call to preventing (exigency) this in real time.