THE MOMENT THE REASON CHANGES
Nate had an explanation when he opened the trade. A level he was watching. A reason it mattered. A point where the idea would stop making sense.
Now the price was closer to that point. He moved the stop. Not because the chart had told him something new. Because the old boundary had become uncomfortable.
“I just need more room,” he said.
Rae looked at the notebook. “What was the plan?”
He could still remember the entry. The reason for changing the exit was much harder to explain.
A new excuse can sound exactly like one.
The useful question comes before the next adjustment.
What would have to change for the original idea to be wrong? Writing that down does not make a trade safe. It makes the reasoning visible—so there is something concrete to examine when the mood changes.
That is also a better way to read someone else’s trading idea: look for the scenario, its conditions and the explanation. A direction by itself leaves a lot unanswered.