The mistakes that hurt are not exotic. They repeat because they feel reasonable in the minute you make them.
These are the ones I still audit. Each has a counter-rule I can check yes/no.
1. Risk that grows with conviction
“This one is obvious” becomes 3%. Conviction is not a sizing input. Size comes from the formula. Risk management.
2. No stop, or a stop that moves away
A mental stop is a stop you will negotiate. A live stop that walks backward is the same thing with extra clicks. Invalidation is a line from the map, not a mood.
3. Adding to a loser
That is a new trade with a worse price, usually without a new thesis. If the plan does not allow it in writing, it is an F.
4. Trading the sixth name
Boredom dressed as work. Watchlist.
5. Trading the number
A coil into CPI is not a setup. News-day rules.
6. Changing style mid-session
A swing plan that suddenly scalps the open. Opening range and day vs swing.
7. Skipping the log when it went well
Winners hide sloppy process. Grade them anyway. Journal.
8. Building a new system on a red Thursday
That is how you collect unfinished methods. Kill criteria.
How I use this list
Once a week I mark which of the eight showed up. I do not need all eight to improve. I need the one that cost the most R.
If you want the feeling behind 4–6, read FOMO. If you want the paperwork that makes 1–3 harder to break, start with the one-page plan