I returned to the market a little hesitant, but with clarity. I knew what went wrong. I just needed to tighten up and avoid lower-probability setups. For the next couple of weeks, I got back on track—good stats, solid performance. Then, out of nowhere, I had another massive drawdown day. This one hit harder because I wasn’t expecting it. Once again, I felt that familiar sting of doubt.

But once the emotional storm passed, my brain shifted into problem-solving mode. I asked myself the most important question after any big loss:
“Did I do something I shouldn’t have done?”

The answer was yes. I had taken two trades in the first ten minutes after the open—again. Lately, that hasn’t been a high-probability window for me. Even when I’m not taking full stops, those early trades tend to set a poor tone for the rest of the day. And on this particular day, both trades hit full stops—and one of them had slippage, which made the loss even worse.

Two full stops in the first ten minutes? That sets a dangerous tone. You either go on the defensive or start pressing out of frustration. Either way, the day often spirals from there.

“That’s how you rebuild confidence after a big loss—not with revenge trades, not by forcing it, but by eliminating your biggest weakness right away. “

– CT-JC

So what could I do to regain confidence for the next day?

I dug deeper. I ran the numbers on my performance from 8:30 to 8:40 AM CST. It was brutal—consistently negative. But I didn’t stop there. I flipped to a 2-minute chart and reviewed the first ten minutes of the open across the past 30 sessions. My setup? It only appeared three times.

And here’s the key part: I didn’t do this to try and justify continuing to trade that period. I did the work to convince myself that I am not profitable during that window. No gray area. No wishful thinking. When you’ve clearly proven to yourself that you’re not making money there, it’s easier to let it go. That clarity kills doubt. It stops the internal debate before it starts.

Normally I give myself two attempts on a trade idea—one to test a side, and another to roll with the other if the first fails. But seeing the data laid out like that made it obvious: I was wasting bullets. I was setting a bad tone. And I was paying for it. Now, I know that at the very least, I won’t start the day down two stops. That’s a win in itself—it’s already a confidence booster, and a weight off my shoulders.

So the next day, I made a simple change: I sat out the first ten minutes entirely. No trades. Just observation. And with a clear head, I spotted my second setup later in the session, executed according to plan, and walked away green.

That’s how you rebuild confidence after a big loss—not with revenge trades, not by forcing it, but by eliminating your biggest weakness right away.

You don’t need to fix everything at once. Just cut the biggest leak. Knowing you’ve removed one major source of self-inflicted damage gives you clarity and control. And that’s often all it takes to start playing to your strengths again.

CT-JC
CT Team Member