Trading is a performance game and only the best will make it to the top and stay there. Professional traders work very hard and are often obsessed with trading, whereas the average amateur trader reduces their trading time to flipping through time-frames to hunt trades or read through forums trying to find a better system. Professionals understand that they have put in the work and that the learning never ends.

Successful traders constantly ask themselves: What am I doing right? What am I doing wrong? How can I do what I am doing better? How can I get more information? – Bill Lipschutz
I really value the fact that I’ve learned to trade as a craft. Like any craft, such as piano playing, perfection may be elusive – I’ll never play a piece perfectly, and I’ll never buy the low and sell the high –  butconsistency is achievable if you practice day in and day out. – Linda Raschke
I learned that each mistake was probably a reflection of something that I was doing wrong, so if I could figure out what that was, I could learn how to be more effective. I learned that wrestling with my problems, mistakes, and weaknesses was the training that strengthened me. Also, I learned that it was the pain of this wrestling that made me and those around me appreciate our successes. – Ray Dalio
When you think that it’s too hard, remember that in the long run, doing the things that will make you successful is a lot easier than being unsuccessful. – Ray Dalio
If you don’t work very hard, it is extremely unlikely that you will be a good trader. – Bruce Kovner
The realization that you are responsible for your results is the key to successful investing. Winners know they are responsible for their results; losers think they are not. – Dr. Van K. Tharp

Use this moment to look at your own trading. Do you put in the work that you should? Do you constantly work on your trading skills and review your trades to build your edge? Or do you just play around and are one of those system-hopping traders who can’t let go of the illusion that someday they will just stumble over the Holy Grail trading system that just works all the time?