When the Year Tests You, Remember ThisUS SP 500 CFDFOREXCOM:SPX500J4mesWickThis year pushed many traders harder than expected. Some faced drawdowns they had never seen before. Some struggled with discipline. Some questioned their approach entirely. If you felt that weight too, you are not alone. I also had a rough trading year, i won't hide, i won't pretend. A year that forced me to step back, review everything, and accept that growth in trading rarely comes from the easy seasons. It comes from the difficult ones that expose weaknesses we have ignored for too long. But here is the part that matters: You finished the year. You did not quit. You are still in the game. If this year humbled you, it also trained you. If it slowed you down, it also made you analyze deeper. If it broke patterns, it also revealed new ones. The market does not reward perfection; it rewards persistence, discipline, and continuous improvement. As we step into a new year: Tighten your process. Review your journal. Remove strategies that drain you. Keep the ones that align with your psychology. Trade less, think more, and let the market come to you. A difficult year does not define you, it prepares you. A better year does not come by chance, it comes by refinement. Here’s to a new chapter, clearer charts, better discipline, and a stronger you. Stay focused. Stay consistent. The next 12 months are unwritten. You get to write them.