Market Journal
Market Notes — December 1, 2025
New month, same rule: context first. Early-month sessions can be noisy as positioning shifts and
traders overreact to short-term movement. I’m treating today as an information day, focusing on
how price behaves around obvious areas and whether follow-through actually exists.
The priority this week is discipline. If structure is unclear, I would rather take fewer trades
with cleaner logic than force activity. My best months usually start with patience, not aggression.
Market Notes — December 2, 2025
Today was about reading reaction instead of predicting direction. Markets constantly offer
“almost” setups that look tempting but lack confirmation. In futures, those are the trades that
quietly bleed accounts over time.
The standard I’m keeping is simple. If I cannot explain the idea clearly in one sentence and
define risk before entry, I do not need the trade. Clean inputs beat constant inputs.
Market Notes — December 3, 2025
A big edge in futures is recognizing when conditions are rotational and when they are directional.
Rotational conditions punish chasing and reward restraint. Directional conditions reward patience
with timing and proper risk placement.
My focus stays on alignment. If the broader context does not support the idea, I treat any setup
as lower quality and adjust risk accordingly. The goal is not to be busy. The goal is to be correct.
Market Notes — December 4, 2025
Today reinforced a core rule: clarity is earned. It shows up after price proves acceptance or
rejection, not before. Most mistakes come from trying to front-run confirmation because it feels
like you will “miss it.”
Missing trades is part of professional execution. I would rather miss three opportunities than
take one low-quality entry that forces emotional management. Confidence comes from rules, not luck.
Market Notes — December 5, 2025
End-of-week sessions often tempt people into forcing something “to make the week worth it.”
That mindset is expensive. The market does not pay you for effort, it pays you for decision quality.
My goal heading into the weekend is to review decisions, not outcomes. If the process was correct,
that is progress. If the process was sloppy, I fix it regardless of whether the trade won or lost.
Market Notes — December 8, 2025
Coming into the new week, I’m prioritizing clean structure and controlled exposure. When markets
feel choppy, the solution is rarely a new indicator. It is usually smaller size, fewer attempts,
and better selectivity.
The best traders I’ve studied do not fight the environment. They adapt to it. If conditions do not
match the playbook, they wait until they do.
Market Notes — December 9, 2025
Today was a good reminder that execution is the real work. Many traders can describe a “good setup”
after the fact, but they cannot execute it calmly in real time. That gap is where most people fail.
I’m focusing on routines that make execution easier. Clear pre-market plan, defined invalidation,
and a rule-based exit approach. When the plan is clear, emotions have less room to interfere.
Market Notes — December 10, 2025
A lot of traders confuse activity with progress. Real progress looks boring. It looks like waiting,
planning, and taking fewer trades with higher confidence. This is how you protect capital in the
periods when the market is not offering clean opportunities.
The mindset I keep returning to is longevity. If I trade in a way that I can repeat for months,
I am doing it correctly. If the approach is emotional or rushed, it will break eventually.
Market Notes — December 11, 2025
Today I focused on identifying what not to trade. That sounds simple, but it is a real skill.
Many people only learn from losing. Strong traders learn from avoiding unnecessary risk entirely.
One of the best filters is follow-through. If momentum fails repeatedly and price cannot hold
gains or losses, I treat it as a lower-quality environment and tighten selection.
Market Notes — December 12, 2025
Friday sessions can create urgency, especially if traders feel behind. That urgency usually leads
to mistakes. I treat Friday as a day to execute only the cleanest ideas and otherwise protect the week.
If there’s one principle I want members to internalize, it’s this. Capital preservation is not
passive. It is an active decision and it is often the best trade.
Market Notes — December 15, 2025
Mid-month is where discipline gets tested. The excitement of “new month energy” fades and traders
start slipping into old habits. This is where rules matter most, not least.
Today’s focus was patience around entries and tighter control over attempts. Fewer trades, cleaner
logic, and no revenge behavior. I care about consistency more than I care about single-day results.
Market Notes — December 16, 2025
Markets often create false clarity. A move can look decisive, but if acceptance does not follow,
it becomes a trap. Futures traders get paid for reading acceptance and rejection, not for guessing.
I’m emphasizing confirmation. If a level matters, reaction should be obvious. If it is not obvious,
then the trade is usually not as clean as it feels in the moment.
Market Notes — December 17, 2025
Today was a strong reminder that sizing controls psychology. If your size is too large, your mind
becomes unstable and you start making decisions to feel better instead of decisions that are correct.
The most “elite” thing you can do is keep your risk small enough to think clearly. Trading is a mental
performance game. Clear thinking is the edge.
Market Notes — December 18, 2025
Another day where restraint mattered. Not every session is designed for heavy execution. Some sessions
are designed to reveal information about how the market is behaving, and that information is valuable.
The goal is to build a process that survives imperfect conditions. When conditions are clean, execution
is easier. When conditions are messy, discipline is what keeps you profitable over time.
Market Notes — December 19, 2025
Ending the week, I’m prioritizing review. Traders who do not review remain trapped in the same cycle.
Traders who review build a playbook and improve their decision-making month by month.
A useful question is simple. Did I follow my process today? If yes, that is a win. If no, that is the
real problem to solve, regardless of the outcome.