Title says it all, but here's what turned out to be the game-changers for me. They happened roughly in this order over the last few years or so:

1st game changer — Stopped going for the “big move” and focused more on smaller time frames, but always with a view for how the price action of the smaller time frames was fitting into the narratives of the larger time frames.

2nd - Cut out the “noise” by unfollowing/no-longer-watching YouTubers who sold “VIP” groups and constantly pushed narratives around big market moves and instead focused on developing (and trusting) my own trading strategies that matched my starting amount, trading style, instrument, leverage, and risk appetite.

3rd game changer — Started thinking about only trading WITH the trend instead of always going for the “sexy” counter-trend trade.

4th game changer -- Started to look for very specific smaller-time-frame strategies with good win rates and endlessly back-testing them.

5th game changer -- Started making sure I was always aware of the economic calendar and the timing of big news events that will bring volatility and temporarily break my smaller-time-frame strategies.

6th game changer -- Started to understand market manipulation and liquidation-hunting strategies and timing my entries and exits accordingly.

7th game changer -- Per sticking with aforementioned smaller-time-frame trading strategies, stopped over-trading and trying to catch every single move and instead only waited for very clear opportunities that fit my strategies (which, since I'm a day trader, still appeared at least once a day).

8th game changer -- Realized that once you understand technical analysis and have found and/or developed a few strategies that work for you, trading isn’t about TA at all - it’s about emotions and psychology and that's 95% of what being a successful trader is all about,. The market manipulators know this. They don’t care about getting the money of novice traders because they know they already have their money. They care about getting the money of the experienced traders who understand TA but can’t control their impulses or emotions.

9th game changer (of all of them this was by far the most important but also the hardest to learn and consistently implement ) — Realized that my stop loss placement (according to aforementioned backtested strategies) needed to represent a total wallet loss that was insignificant for me and that I was totally okay with. Otherwise I would 1. Never be able to let my trades fully play out according to my backtested strategies. 2. Always, ultimately, blow my account, and 3. Always lose my psychological edge on the market. This one was HUGE.

Happy to answer any questions.