Howdy, traders. It’s Bryce here.

Today I want to talk to you about the most valuable thing in a person’s life. The one thing you can’t get back — I’m talking about TIME. 

As traders, we often imagine how many zeros we’d like to see in our bank accounts. But what we don’t think about is how we spend the time trying to get there. 

Time is money. And when it comes to time spent struggling, there are two types of struggle…

There’s productive struggle (time well spent) and there’s unproductive struggle (wasted time). So let me help you identify which camp you’re in right now…

Which Type of Struggle are You Stuck in?

I’ve shared some of the pitfalls from my early days of trading before. I definitely hit rock bottom when I didn’t get out of bed for three weeks. I hardly ate a thing. I stopped going to school, stopped going to work, and stopped looking at charts. 

The worst part is that this happened when I was going full throttle. I thought I was doing the right thing by sacrificing all my time to be as productive as possible. Why was burnout my reward instead of success?

I started to regret my choice to pursue trading. Until I realized I had the power to turn things around. Now I have more time for myself and my loved ones AND the success I always wanted to have as a profitable trader. 

Here’s how to recognize if you’re in the right type of struggle (the kind that moves that needle forward) or the wrong type of struggle (the kind that feels like treading water, or worse, sinking below it)…

Unproductive Struggle vs. Productive Struggle

You might be stuck in unproductive struggle if…

#1 — You spend all your time studying but you don’t know if you’re improving or not. This is the trading equivalent of busy work. On the surface, it looks like you’re being productive, but at the end of the day, you don’t feel more confident or knowledgeable. Why is that?

If this is the case, you might need a more formal structure to reach your maximum impact. It’s easy to get overloaded with information. Education is about discovering how to apply that information at the right time. That’s called wisdom. And that’s what makes a truly experienced trader more confident. 

#2 — You get angry when you lose a trade and immediately trade again to prove yourself. We’re on our own when trading and sometimes we can be our worst critics. When doubt, fear, and uncertainty set in, we want to take control … so we rush to cover up a loss with a win … and then we lose again. 

If you’re having this problem, you need to find the right trading strategies for your personality and create a trading plan you can stick to. When you have a big-picture idea of what trading should look like, you’ll be less affected by the small losses along the way. Losses are guaranteed. How you plan for them is what matters. Notice that my win rate is just under 52% and I’m closing in on the million-dollar profit mark.

#3 — You compare yourself to other traders. We all want to be recognized for our achievements. That’s part of being human. The problem is that there are all kinds of fakes and braggadocious people on the internet posting their wins and leaving out their losses. 

If you’re getting sucked into this destructive distraction cycle, you need to remember why you want to trade. Your reasons are what matter. If your goal is to trade part-time to make extra income for your family, focus on what your family needs right now. You can still get what you need no matter what other traders on the internet are doing as long as you follow the right steps. 

Conclusion

Everyone’s trading journey is unique because we all come with our own set of mental blocks, emotional hurdles, and personal desires. 

A blanket approach to learning can eventually help a lot of people. But it can speed things up a lot when you find a mentor that can show you the ropes directly. 

That’s less time spent on needless sacrifice, unproductive struggle, and regret, and more time spent on productive struggle, investing in yourself, and building your confidence.