Thanks to Bella from SMB for pointing out this post from @kroyrunner89 on the work it takes to break a slump. It's a great example of how awareness of our mistakes can overcome trading-by-ego. I spoke with a trader a while back who went from unprofitable to profitable simply by changing one thing. Instead of getting bigger as trades went his way, he scaled out of his positions. That's it. He updated risk/reward in a clear headed way and became protective of profits instead of greedy for more. He replaced overconfidence with a realistic picture of how far a move is likely to extend. When you trade by rules, you suppress the ego and make doing the right thing more and more automatic.