I recognize that I will make many decisions every trading day
I recognize that I every day I will be wrong
I recognize that there may be days, weeks and months when I will lose money
I recognize that the best traders in the world make 100-200 pips per month
I recognize that trading is unlike any other job in the world
I don't receive a salary
I don't collect commission
The money I earn can be taken back by the market
I recognize that trading is never just about money -- it is about play and discovery and the intellectual challenge of understanding the market
I recognize that in order to indulge in the experimental process of trading I need a separate trade account that I will destroy many times over
I recognize that all backtests are false but necessary to establish a baseline for a strategy
I recognize that demo trading is useless in live markets
I recognize that risking more than 2% on a trade will wipe me out eventually
I recognize that markets have only two states -- range or trend -- and that no strategy can be successful in both
I recognize that tactics are more important than analytics
I recognize that if I fight the market I will always lose in the end
I recognize that no single trade should make me or break me
I recognize that I will never trade without a stop
I recognize that I will never add to a losing position
I recognize that I will never trade in anger or revenge or fear
I recognize that I will inevitably fail the three rules above, but I vow to fail them less and less every year that I trade
I recognize that surviving the game is my best chance of winning.