Your mind
Your mind is the ultimate motor driving the ability to achieve what you set out to manifest. Make no mistake; if you had the holy grail of trading, if there would be such a thing in the form of a perfect system, it still is worthless if you would be without the proper mindset of applying this holy grail toward the markets.
The crazy thing is that with every strength your mind has, that strength also becomes a liability.
This is a fact because as much as there are many mental strengths a trader needs to possess, each of these strengths must be balanced since the trading process is all about equilibrium. It is a balanced mindset that succeeds in trading. An attitude formed by routines and an adherence to rules and repetitive regiments that need to be rehearsed and unquestionably followed.
Trading is all process, and trading skills are all results of repetitive practice of routines.
As a result, abstinence from extremes is essential. You can not get thrilled by extreme winners, and you can not get disheartened by the steep learning curve with its endless strikes against you.
Falling into anything resembling a victim role results in a likely downward spiral and hardship and can be dangerous to your mental well-being.
You need to embrace obstacles and see the principle value that pressure situations are rare opportunities to grow from, meet yourself, and walk away enriched. Trading will provide more of these events than average life.
That being said, take care of your mind. Give it the quiet and rest it deserves. Value it. Allow it to bring forward the answers to the many questions you should ask about the process you apply to the market. Give it the routines and rules that ease its burden to make real-time decisions and allow for anticipatory rule-based behavior. Reward it by acknowledging that your disciplines drive home consistent rewards, not hunches or flukes and other gambling impulses.
Take care of yourself first to step into the arena with a strong and healthy mindset reflecting the principles under which you will execute your plan and come out as a winner.