My personal understanding of the term "trading plan"

Market fluctuations are always unpredictable; greed during times of high emotion and fear during panic are human weaknesses.

Many people interpret a trading plan as choosing targets before the market opens and executing based on the situation during trading hours. This understanding is superficial.

A trading plan should be more deeply understood as the enforcement of trading discipline.

The core of a trading plan is to stick to the rules you set, not to be blinded by short-term rises and falls. When the plan calls for stop-loss at a certain point, don’t hold onto the hope that “it might bounce back if I wait a bit longer”; when the plan calls for taking profit and exiting, don’t greedily chase those last few points. Many people stumble not because they don’t understand the market, but because they can’t control their hands and break their own plans. Trading is a long-term battle, not a gamble for a quick win. Today’s overreach due to greed will lead to chaos tomorrow from panic, and in the end, it will only get messier and more costly.

Ultimately, trading is never about luck in the short term, but about long-term discipline. Planning your trades helps us stay clear-headed in chaotic markets; a trading plan helps us stay true to our principles amid changing conditions. Follow each trade according to the plan—no panic, no greed, no chaos. It may seem slow, but it’s actually the safest path.

The market is never short of opportunities; what’s lacking are people who can stick to their plans and practice what they preach.

[Taogu Ba]