Lesson Learned: The Cost of Ignoring My Own System

Hey everyone, been lurking for a bit and decided to finally introduce myself. One of the harder lessons I had to internalize early on, and one that still bites me if I get complacent, was the cost of ignoring my own established system. I’d meticulously backtested a strategy for $SPY options, knew my entry conditions, my stop, my profit targets, but then in the heat of a volatile session, I’d see a chart pattern that felt right, or news would break, and I’d abandon my criteria. The majority of my really significant drawdowns weren't from a bad system, but from trading outside the system entirely. It taught me the discipline isn't just in creating a plan, but in executing it, especially when it feels uncomfortable.