My mom recently visited us here in Austin and it was a great time — as I’ve mentioned before, it included a lot of amazing Indian home cooking. My family is from South India, specifically the state of Telangana.
And besides rice, one of our staple carbs is chapatis. They’re a flat bread I grew up enjoying and wanted to bring into my own cooking.
My mom made some while she was here, and the first thing I did was watch her process of creating the dough, kneading it, shaping the chapatis then cooking them up. I even helped her with a few. But then I told myself: as soon as she leaves, I need to make some on my own. Because if I don’t practice the skill, I’m going to lose it.
It’s the same in trading. When you learn something new — maybe an indicator, maybe a strategy — if you don’t practice it, it fades away.
Step 1: Set a Schedule
I decided I would make chapatis at least every other day for the next week. Now, I’m making them for a household of two, so I wasn’t going to crank out a huge amount. But I knew that consistency was the only way to get the skill going.
Do the same in your trading. For example, if you’ve just learned about a new indicator, commit to yourself that you’ll check it every day — even if only in simulator mode. Maybe you study the tutorials for 30 minutes a day. Whatever form it takes, consistency builds comfort.
Step 2: Start With Small Batches
My mom had left behind some chapati flour. So instead of heading to the store for a huge bag, I started tiny. I made the smallest ball of chapati dough the world has probably ever seen — just half a cup of flour, a pinch of salt, and a quarter cup of very warm water. . That gave me exactly three mini chapatis. See the result – they not only looked right, they tasted right too!
Starting small took the pressure off. I wasn’t worried about wasting flour or standing over the stove flipping them all night. I knew it would result in a few chapatis, and that’s exactly what happened.
In trading, small batches mean lowering the stakes while you practice. Trade tiny position sizes. Try a handful of examples. Build skill without overwhelming yourself.
Step 3: Adjust and Tweak
One practice session doesn’t make mastery. So I went back for round two pretty quickly — and I tweaked.
In this case, I tried mixing the dough with room-temperature water instead of very warm water, because I was in a rush. And guess what? That tweak failed. The chapatis came out chewier, less soft, less flaky.
Now I know: the water temperature really does matter. Even with something as simple as chapatis, little details — like temperature and rest times — change the outcome.
In trading, your tweaks won’t always work either. But that’s part of the process. You make a couple trades with the adjustment, you see the result, you learn, and you adapt
That’s exactly why I built the First 40 Trading Club. In there, I walk traders through the same rhythm I followed with my chapatis: build your plan, test it in small batches, and then make thoughtful tweaks once you’ve got enough examples. The first 40 trades are your practice rounds. Some tweaks will make your plan stronger, and some won’t — but either way, you learn what really works for you.
Step 4: Scale and Observe
The big test was not only making chapatis by myself but serving them to my husband for dinner. And that’s what I did last night! I asked him about 16 times if they were good, but the evidence was in the clean plate – he ate the 4 full size chapatis I made with curries and yogurt and looked pretty happy. 🙂
So now I feel pretty confident now that chapatis will be a regular part of my life again. I’ll keep experimenting, but the real keys were:
- Setting a schedule
- Starting small
- Being willing to tweak and learn
It’s the same with your trading. Whether it’s a new indicator, a new strategy, or even a new market you’re trading, think of my chapatis! Consistency, small batches, and open-minded tweaks are what turn learning into a lasting skill.
~Hima
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