How to Stop Meddling With Trades

Most traders sabotage their own trades without realising it. Here’s how to tell if you’re managing a position — or just meddling with it.

Let’s talk about a fine line most traders cross without even realising it…
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​Meddling vs Managing.
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​On the surface, they seem similar, right?
In fact, management sounds quite noble, doesn’t it?
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“Oh, I’m just managing my trade…” 😏
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But let’s be honest… half the time, that’s just a nice way of saying:
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“I’m meddling with it because I’m uncomfortable…”

YOU MEDDLER YOU

Meddling is reactive. Emotional. And most of the time unnecessary.

It’s tightening a stop just because you’re up a bit and don’t want to “let the winner turn into a loser.”

❌ It’s exiting early because “the market feels heavy.”
❌ It’s doing something… heck, anything, to reduce discomfort.

But here’s the problem…

  • When you meddle, you interrupt the natural flow of the trade.
  • You override the edge you identified before the emotions kicked in.
  • You sabotage your results without even realising it.

And it’s silent sabotage… because often you don’t see the cost.

Because you avoid the drawdown.
But you also miss the payoff of a nice R multiple…

True trade management is different.

Management is logical. Intentional. A commercial decision.

“Has any new information changed the expected outcome of this trade?”

If yes, maybe you do:

  • Add more
  • Reduce size
  • Move your stop
  • Exit entirely

If no, you leave it the hell alone…

Management means making decisions based on new facts, not just how you feel.

It’s asking:

  • Has the narrative shifted?
  • Has price structure changed?
  • Is the trade behaving differently than expected?

If not? You don’t touch the f’cking thing!
Physically walk away if you need to.

So next time you feel that itch to tinker with a trade…

Pause.

Ask:

Am I managing this for better results?
Or am I meddling because I’m uncomfortable?

It’s a small distinction. But it changes everything.

If meddling is costing you, it might be worth watching my 7 Discipline Mistakes (and how to fix them) webinar. No.2 has meddling written all over it!