Review of goals

I said that I wanted to have at least two successful trades by mid/end of February. I am reframing this to quality over quantity:

• I am only doing options at the moment

I've talked about the theta decay that affects the initial investment, it's something I have to be considerate of now. In the past where I was successful, it was because of of luck. However, I now have knowledge of what theta is and give myself and my options time to not lose value. At the same time, the volatility of a stock also has a say in the maturity of my options. Due to these two greeks, I have to adjust my current goals. First, $XLE does not have high volatility and two, a month is decent enough to not overpay my "rent".

• I am testing a strategy that worked for me in the past

As mentioned, while I had a few successful option trades last year, it was purely out of luck and good timing. This is why I went back to the past and analyze what worked and didn't work. As a result, I am now applying what I learned and with a month to test it, I want to apply lessons and strategies and waiting for the result.

• Playing it safe at this stage without a major investment until I feel ready

From the point above, I am playing it safe for now. It's easy to make mistakes and lose a big sum of money. I feel okay losing little money, because I know it will not change the course of my life, but sacrificing my entire home would be too much. I will have more confidence in the next month or two, which will slowly begin expanding my safety net as far as investing goes.

• Learning to manage my emotions

I don't feel comfortable making huge investments at this time when I am just learning how to manage my emotions and impulses. In the past I'd jump to not feel FOMO – this has resulted in me blowing money. I'd rather work through managing my emotions with small or big wins.