Tradetopia Field Notes — Issue #36

Are You Adapting to the Pain Fast Enough?

I've been running more lately. Not because I love running. But because I needed to push myself somewhere outside of trading.

Here's what I noticed: the first mile always sucks. My lungs burn. My legs feel heavy. My brain is screaming at me to stop.

But if I keep going, something shifts. The pain doesn't go away, but I adapt to it. My body adjusts. My breathing steadies. And by mile three, I'm in a rhythm.

Then I decided to push the pace. Run faster. The pain came back. My body had to adapt again. And once it did? I was running faster times than I ever thought I could.

Trading works the same way.

The Comfort Trap

Most traders get stagnant because they silently slip into their comfort zone.

They wake up right before the market opens. They trade high risk because they feel entitled to more. Skip the journaling because they “already know what they’re doing”.

And then they wonder why their results plateau.

Here's the truth: growth doesn't happen in comfort. It doesn’t happen doing exactly what’s been done for months and years. There must be a stretch into the unknown.

If you're comfortable, you're not growing. You're maintaining. And maintaining is fine if you've already met your goals and standards. But if you're still trying to get there? Comfort is your enemy. It’s THE hurdle because traders assume they already have enough momentum to get the job done.

The traders who break through aren't the ones who avoid discomfort. They're the ones who seek it out, adapt to it, and raise their standards because of it.

Raising Your Standards

Let's talk about standards.

Your standards are the invisible line that defines what you're willing to accept from yourself. They dictate how you show up, how you execute, and ultimately, what results you get.

If your standard is "I'll follow my plan most of the time," then most of the time is what you'll get.

If your standard is "I'll follow my stops unless (insert rationalization)," then you'll keep moving your stops.

If your standard is "I'll trade seriously when I have more capital," then you'll never trade seriously.

Your results will always match your standards. Not your goals. Not your wishes. Your standards.

So if you want better results, you have to raise your standards. And raising your standards means getting uncomfortable.

The Pain of Growth

Here's what most traders don't realize: the pain you feel when you're growing is different from the pain you feel when you're failing.

When you're failing, the pain is chaotic. It's frustration, regret, shame. It's the pain of knowing you're not doing what you said you'd do.

When you're growing, the pain is precise. It's discomfort. It's the feeling of pushing past your current limits. It's the ache of doing something you've never done before.

Both hurt. But only one leads somewhere worthwhile.

When I started running faster, it hurt. But it was a productive hurt. My body was adapting. My capacity was expanding.

When you start executing your system flawlessly, it's going to hurt. You're going to feel the urge to break your rules. You're going to feel the discomfort of sitting through drawdowns. You're going to feel the ache of letting winners run when every instinct says to take profit. You will see your stop get hit and then your trade run straight to your target.

But that's the pain of growth. And if you can adapt to it, you'll break through to the next level.

The Question That Changes Everything

Here's the question I asked in a recent session with my private group:

"Are you able to adapt to the pain faster so you can get feedback faster and get better faster?"

Think about it. The faster you adapt to discomfort, the faster you can execute at a higher level. The faster you execute at a higher level, the faster you get feedback. The faster you get feedback, the faster you improve. The faster you improve, the faster the success you want finds your present reality.

Most traders avoid the pain. They stay in the comfortable zone where they don't have to face their weaknesses. But that means they're also avoiding the feedback that would make them better.

If you can learn to adapt to discomfort quickly, you compress the timeline to mastery.

How to Raise Your Standards

1. Identify Where You're Settling

Where are you accepting "good enough" instead of demanding excellence? Is it in your execution? Your journaling? Your preparation? Get honest about where you're coasting.

2. Set a New Baseline

Decide what the new standard is. Not what you hope to do. What you will do. Every trade. Every session. No exceptions.

3. Embrace the Discomfort

When you raise your standards, it's going to feel uncomfortable. You're going to want to go back to the old way. Don't. Sit with the discomfort. Adapt to it.

4. Track Your Consistency

Don't just track your P&L. Track how consistently you're meeting your new standard. Did you execute perfectly today? That's a win, even if you lost money.

5. Iterate and Elevate

Once you've adapted to the new standard, raise it again. This is how you build momentum. This is how you go from surviving to thriving.

The Traders Who Win

The traders who win aren't the most talented. They're not the ones with the best setups or the biggest accounts.

They're the ones who are willing to continuously raise their standards and adapt to the discomfort that comes with it.

Pain isn’t avoided anymore. They move through it faster than everyone else.

No more settling for "good enough." There’s a demand for more from themselves, especially when it's uncomfortable.

A comfort zone is forever fleeting. It’s a constant push towards the space just beyond it, where growth happens.

The Choice

You have a choice right now.

You can stay where you are. Keep doing what you're doing. Stay comfortable. And get the same results you've always gotten.

Or you can raise your standards. Embrace the discomfort. Adapt to the pain. And break through to the next level.

The market doesn't care which one you choose. But your future self does.

PS:

What's one standard you've been settling on? What would it look like to raise it, starting today?

PPS:

The discomfort you feel when you raise it? That's not a sign you're doing it wrong. It's a sign you're doing it right.

PPPS:
I’m trading live Monday through Friday, don’t miss it. See you on my Youtube.

From Tradetopia,

Mike Navarrete 🧙🏽‍♂️