Most of us are fortunate to be in a position where we are paid to think.

The problem is that most traders forget this.

They push harder than they should because they need to make money, or they get caught up in the excitement of trading, or simply because they stare at quotes from sun up to sun down. When your mind is constantly reacting, there is almost no room left to actually think. That is a problem.

A few unique opportunities each quarter are what make your year. Not the day in, day out grind. In fact, trading nonstop is a great way to lose a ton of money. And for the very best traders, that level of activity usually leads to nothing more than breaking even on the over-active portion of their business.

I saw it firsthand at SMB Capital and Kershner Trading Group. Every month the strongest traders would walk into the meeting and talk about how one, maybe two trades made their entire month. They nailed those setups, and they leaked money everywhere else.

I am no different. This year has been defined by a handful of opportunities, not endless activity.

And here is the funny part. Now that I spend most of my time working and building a business, I do not sit in front of quotes all day. I assumed this would be detrimental for my trading when it became reality in 2024. Instead, I hit new highs.

Because when I am not glued to the screen, I actually think.

I poke around. I explore. I get curious.

Throughout the day I check what is gapping up, gapping down, closing strong, closing weak. I read the why behind the move. I look at the news, the share structure, the fundamentals, the dilution or offering risk, and whether something might be asymmetric. The answer is almost always no, and that is fine. The process itself should be exciting to you.

I share ideas out loud in the free Overnight Momentum Trading Discord because talking through things helps me think.

I scroll the top gainers and losers on Stock Analysis to see if anything looks so obvious that I have no choice but to participate.

I check my overnight momentum filters built in Trade Ideas to understand what is strong, what is weak, and why. Most small caps are automatic avoids because Ask Edgar makes their dilution risk obvious. But every once in a while one is closing incredibly strong, doing incredible volume, offering only a few cents of risk for the potential of two to five times upside.

Or I check my “cheap stocks” scanner on Stock Analysis to see if any name is setting up for a big future mean reversion trade.

All of this is thinking. Not acting.

And the sneaky truth is that traders are paid to think far more often than they are paid to act. The better you get at thinking clearly, slowing down, and waiting for the handful of obvious setups each quarter, the better your results will be.

Remember this the next time you feel pressure to trade. You are paid to think. Acting is optional.