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- Tradetopia Field Notes | Issue #14
✍️ Editor’s Note:
Starting with today’s essay, I’m officially numbering these as part of the Tradetopia Field Notes. A growing collection of frameworks, mental models, and personal reflections from the markets.
This is Issue #14, but if you’ve been following along, you’ve already been reading the early chapters. Let’s make it official.
There’s an invisible scale shaping every trade you take.
Most traders think they’re missing an edge… What they’re missing is agency.
Agency is the ability to take ownership, think independently, and act deliberately.
In trading, agency is what separates the ones who shape markets from those who are shaped by them.
Without it, no strategy will save you… no matter how good it looks on paper.
The Invisible Force Behind Most Traders' Struggles
You can convince yourself to think you need more time, more indicators, or better entries.
But in reality… you might just need more agency.
Trading covertly reveals your level of agency every single day.
There’s no boss, no alarm clock, no official rulebook.
It’s just you, the market, and the stories you tell yourself about why you win or lose.
Low agency traders crave more information.
High agency traders claim more ownership.
The Trader's Agency Spectrum
“High agency is like a tricycle: clear thinking, bias to action, and disagreeability.”
Every decision you make nudges you, left or right, along this spectrum.
It’s not fixed… it’s fluid.
Each choice is a vote.
Low Agency | High Agency |
|---|---|
Vague Goals | Clear Rules |
Copying Others | Building Your Own System |
Avoiding Reviews | Reviewing Ruthlessly |
Blaming the Market | Taking Total Ownership |
Overanalyzing | Acting on Clarity |
Common Traps Traders Fall Into
The Vague Trap
No clear criteria for a trade = hesitation, anxiety, and second-guessing.
The Permission Trap
Waiting for someone else to validate your trade idea or your ability.
The Information Trap
Confusing endless consumption with progress. Reading ≠ rewiring.
The Blame Trap
“The market was manipulated.” “Whales ruined the setup.”
Always someone or something else to blame.
The Escape Routes
High agency isn’t found.
It’s built. Trade by trade, habit by habit.
Specificity
Define exactly what a valid trade is: binary, simple rules.
Ownership
Every trade, win or lose, is yours. No excuses.
Independent Thinking
You may learn from others, but your system must become your own.
Action
Agency is forged through action, not theory. Small size. Consistent reps.
The Agency Test
Where am I avoiding responsibility?
Where am I vague, waiting, or blaming?
Where am I hesitating when I know I should act?
This is where your agency is being given away.
In Closing
It’s rarely technical skill that blows traders up.
It’s staying stuck in low agency. For far too long.
The market doesn’t reward victims.
It rewards operators.
The choice has always been yours.
It still is.
Build your Utopia.
PS:
From Tradetopia,
Mike Navarrete 🧙🏽♂️
Filed: March 30 2025 | Location: Behind the Screens — Chicago