Good morning, traders…
Chocolate cake is delicious.
And of course, you need a refreshing beverage to wash that decadent dessert down.
A glass of wine with your cake is a perfectly reasonable choice.
But eating chocolate cake for breakfast, lunch, and dinner will put you on the fast track to an Ozempic prescription…
And drinking wine all day, every day will make you an alcoholic.
You can have too much of any good thing…
And that includes trading.
Overtrading is the #1 killer of aspiring traders’ accounts.
The at-your-fingertips gamification of everything, from Robinhood to sports betting, has instilled the wrong mindset in some traders of this era (especially the younger ones).
They can’t stop themselves from trading.
They love it. It’s fun. It’s exciting.
I know this pattern because I’ve watched dozens of traders fall into it.
They force setups because they need to feel active. The account bleeds slowly, one unnecessary trade at a time.
If this sounds familiar, listen…
Overtrading is probably costing you more than every other mistake … combined.
This Is How You Fix It…
The Illusion of Control
Humans equate doing more with achieving more.
In most areas of life, effort correlates with results. The more you do the activity, the better results you get.
The market breaks that rule.
More trades don’t necessarily lead to more gains.
But your brain wants them to…
This spurs a vicious mental cycle:
“If I just find the perfect setup today…”
“I’m overdue for a winner…”
“I’ll get it back on the next trade…”
Those thoughts aren’t rooted in logic. They’re based on your brain trying to regain control of things it can’t control.
You can’t control outcomes, only your process.
Dopamine “Hits Different”
Trading is like a behavioral psychology experiment happening in real time.
Every click within your brokerage app produces anticipation, every win delivers dopamine.
Your brain begins to link trading frequency with emotional reward (when you want it linked to financial reward).
That’s why you can lose money and still want to trade. Your brain is seeking stimulation more than progress, improvement, or consistency.
This problem is made worse by the gamification of modern-day trading platforms.
When you fund a Robinhood account, a plume of digital confetti bursts across your screen.
That’s not an accident. It’s a calculated design choice to activate certain parts of your brain.
Compare this to slot machines, sports betting, and video games…
The mechanics that get you hooked are identical.
Variable rewards on an unpredictable schedule create a hypnotic form of behavioral conditioning.
You think you’re trading to make gains. But your brain just wants more dopamine hits.
Awareness of “What You’re Missing”
Social media gives you a constant window into “what you’re missing.”
Information flow is immediate and endless.
“Nvidia is running.”
“This guy just bought a bunch of calls.”
“I’m too late.”
“Everyone saw this move except me.”
Seeing other traders’ profits (even strangers on social media) can give you FOMO. You stop asking “Is this my setup?” and start thinking “I can’t miss this.”
Overtrading can be an emotional response to watching a setup move without you.
You feel left behind, so you chase the trade too late or revenge-trade something else to make it up.
Stop worrying about what others are doing. Start trading your own process … ruthlessly.
The Biggest Problem: No Clear Strategy
At its core, overtrading comes down to one overarching flaw: a lack of strategy, process, and rules.
When you don’t have clear entry criteria, exit criteria, risk limits, volume rules, or max loss amount per day … you default to impulse reactions.
This causes stress. And if your brain is making real-time decisions under stress, your emotions win … every time.
Overtrading fills the vacuum created by the absence of rules.
But it’s a false feeling of fullness.
Like filling your body with empty calories…
Like eating chocolate cake and calling it a meal.
The only way to avoid the hypnotic pull towards overtrading?
By trading through a process, a system, a proven strategy.
You need to have a list of “non-negotiables” that every setup must meet. If you don’t see those criteria met, you pass.
No questions asked.
But when you do see all of your “non-negotiables” line up on one chart, you execute the trade.
No hesitation.
That’s how I turned $50 into $1,260 in just 2 months…*
By ruthlessly trading one specific strategy.
I’ll teach you my 5 best-performing options strategies at my LAST Options Bootcamp of 2025…
This Wednesday & Thursday, December 10-11.
This is your LAST CHANCE to reserve a seat:
Happy trading,
Ben Sturgill
*Past performance does not indicate future results, Not typical.
