There's a distinction I've been thinking about that might explain more than any strategy ever could.
Some traders want to be profitable.
Some traders need to be profitable.
Sounds similar but It's not.
One Keeps You Stuck
Want is future tense.
"I want to be profitable" means someday. Eventually.
When the timing is right. When I've learned enough.
When I find the perfect system.
Want gives you permission to wait.
Need is present tense.
"I need to figure this out" doesn't leave room for someday.
There's no version of the future where you didn't solve this.
The decision already happened - now it's just execution.
Need burns the timeline.
Identity First. Evidence Second.
Here's what took me too long to understand {{first_name | default:}}.
The traders who break through don't want it more than you do.
They're not more motivated.
They don't have more discipline.
They just stopped giving themselves permission to keep waiting.
At some point, "I'm working on becoming profitable" became "I'm a profitable trader figuring out the kinks."
The strategy didn't change.
The relationship to the outcome did.
I Can't Manufacture The Shift
The frameworks exist. The models exist.
The approach that closes the gap between knowing and executing - it's there.
But want will keep you researching forever.
Collecting information. Waiting for certainty that never comes.
Need makes you pick a vehicle and commit.
That's yours to decide.
Atif
