The Mindset Shift That Helped Me Stop Overtrading (Especially During Volatility)
The markets are shaky right now — headlines about tech volatility, rate uncertainty, and international tariffs are driving huge swings in price and sentiment. And I’ve seen this story before...
When I first started trading, I was all over these moves — chasing spikes, checking my favorite tickers, analyzing charts, and opening trades just to feel like I was doing something, and convincing myself that every dip was an opportunity. Honestly, I still get this feeling today! And that’s okay!
But after enough hard lessons, I made a shift.
I stopped trying to outguess the market.
I stopped over trading.
I started trusting a simple, repeatable plan: The Wheel Strategy.
But this isn’t yet another post isn’t about a trade idea — it’s about the mindset that changed my trading life. And why, especially during volatile weeks like this, less is often more.
1. The Over-trading Trap
When I started, my version of “trading” was just... activity.
I jumped into trades I saw off Reddit and Discord signals
I chased IV spikes with zero plan and no risk management
I’d revenge trade the next morning if something went red
I ran multiple trades at once, with no sense of size or overlap
It felt productive. Like I was “learning the ropes” or “getting reps in.” Like it was a hazing that I needed to go through and eventually, I everything would just click, and bam, profit.
Of course, that click never clicked, and the only thing that was for certain, it was draining me — financially and emotionally.
I was glued to screens.
Anxious.
Overwhelmed.
Exhausted.
And despite all that effort… my results weren’t getting better.
2. What Changed — and Why
At some point, I had a moment of clarity.
“I’m not building wealth. I’m spinning wheels.”
I realized I was trading like someone chasing dopamine hits. I knew something had to change. I felt like I knew the market, had all the right info, did my research, knew what I was supposed to be doing, yet wasn’t doing it.
So I did what I would do with anything else I cared about long-term:
I started focusing on win %, not dollar amount.
I started setting monthly goals instead of daily targets
I shifted from being reactive to implementing a system
That’s when I found the strategy that changed everything for me: The Wheel.
3. Why The Wheel Strategy Saved Me
The Wheel gave me something I needed: structure. If you missed my first post, the steps are simple:
Sell a cash-secured put
If assigned, own the shares
Sell covered calls while holding
Repeat
That’s it. Clean. Predictable. Defined.
It let me control:
Risk (I only trade what I want to own)
Timeframes (2–6 week expirations max)
Rules (30–40 delta puts, no covered calls below cost basis)
Emotionally? I was more calm.
Financially? I started generating income consistently.
Not massive spikes — but steady, controllable returns.
Most importantly, set and forget.
4. Trading Through Volatility (April 2025 Edition)
Fast-forward to now:
The market just dropped over 10.5%.
Tech names are getting crushed.
Volatility is back — people are panicking.Here’s what I’m not doing:
❌ Trying to time bottoms
❌ Jumping into every oversold ticker
❌ Scaling up just because IV is high
Here’s what I am doing:✅ Small, calculated positions on high-IV names like TSLA and NVDA
✅ Staying clear of earnings landmines
✅ Leaning on VOO and AAPL for lower-risk income plays
I’m not guessing. I’m executing a plan.
5. My “Less is More” Routine
These days, my weekly trading flow looks like this:
I trade 3–5 times a week, max
I still check open positions daily — not to trade more, but to manage what’s there.
I close out any open positions that are 70-80%+ in profit
Monitor the news, research support and resistance on the tickers I know well, and look for new entries
Like the saying goes:
Less is more.
Conclusion: Build the System, Not the Excitement
If you’re feeling pressure to “trade the chaos,” I get it. That used to be me.
But what I’ve learned — and what I want to share — is that consistent income comes from consistent systems.
Not hype.
Not predictions.
Not reacting to every move.
Just a plan — and the patience to follow it. If there’s any questions, please, don’t hesitate to ask:
Next time, I’ll go more into the Wheel Strategy, what risks this strategy poses (nothing is full proof, but this comes close), who is using this strategy (Warren Buffet uses this to generate income and this is what sold me!), and how to actually set up a trade in your brokerage.
Until next time,
– HL Financial Strategies
