It’s been lovely having my mom visit Austin for the first time. And I’m definitely going to miss her home cooking in my kitchen.
The other day, in a rush to ask her to make a little bit of extra ginger chai for my husband, I ran down the stairs.
I never rush, but here I did, and my heel slipped.
And in an instant, the left side of my body bumped and slid down at least four steps before I managed to grab the handrail.
At first, I was in shock — honestly, I flashed back to those 1990s commercials: “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up.”
Of course, my mom and my husband ran over, asking if I was okay.
All I could say was, “I just need a minute.”
My left arm hurt and is now bruised. My neck felt a bit strained. And my left hip was sore, I couldn’t stop clutching it.
Not fun — but not serious. And for that I was very lucky. I didn’t tumble; I just slid. After stretching and realizing I’d be okay, I looked up and thought: maybe this was a reminder from the universe — from God — to slow down.
Where Else Am I Rushing?
I don’t know about you, but I have a tendency to move fast. I grew up in New York. I talk fast, I type fast, I think fast.
And while those things can be strengths, they’re not always good. So aside from learning not to rush into the kitchen asking my mom for a custom order, I had to ask myself:
Where else am I rushing in my life? And where am I rushing in my trading?
1. Rushing Into Setups
The most obvious place is when we’re identifying a trade setup.
We rush because we’re scared of missing out — classic FOMO.
When that happens, we sometimes skip our checklist.
We don’t confirm that all the conditions are in place, or we settle for a setup that doesn’t really meet our criteria.
If you rush the entry, you’re more likely to regret the exit.
Take the extra seconds to double-check — whether you’re a fast scalp trader or a slower swing trader.
2. Rushing Trade Management
The next place we tend to rush is in managing the trade.
You know that feeling when potential profits start flashing on your screen?
That green light, or that higher projected balance — it feels good. I get it!.
But the most successful traders don’t build their edge on a bunch of small wins and zero losses.
That’s practically impossible.
They win by allowing their bigger wins to outweigh their losses.
If you cut a trade too soon, you rob yourself of the chance to capture the “gold in the middle.”
Protect what you need to protect, but give your trades room to run.
3. Remember Your Handrails
I don’t want you to have to fall down the stairs to get this reminder.
But just like my staircase had a handrail to stop me from sliding further, your trading has handrails too.
That might be:
- Alerts to warn you when price action nears your level
- Protective stop orders
- Risk rules you’ve already written into your plan
Use them thoughtfully. They’re there to prevent a bad slip from turning into something worse.
At the end of the day, this is really me reminding myself, too.
We’re never going to eliminate every peril — but we can keep coming back to center.
Slow down.
Check your steps.
And be ready to tackle the next day, in trading and in life.
~Hima
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