The Day Trading Trap

I’ve been analyzing why I feel the urge to day trade. It’s a difficult question, but if I deconstruct my own psychology, the pattern is obvious.

1. The Boredom Trigger The urge only appears when I have downtime. My brain isn't looking for money. it's looking for dopamine.

2. The Freedom Illusion I rationalize this boredom as a desire to escape the 9-to-5. My brain tells me that trading is the "exit key" to dependency on a salary. The internet also confirms that if you search for day trading on YouTube or anywhere else.

The Guru Ecosystem The "Traders" on YouTube all follow the same script.

• The Hook: They show you "unusual gains" (Lamborghinis and screenshots).

• The Relatability: They admit they lost money at first (just like you will!).

• The Pivot: Then, they sell you a course.

You have to ask yourself: If they found a magical money-printing machine in the stock market, why are they hustling $49 e-books? The likely reality is that their "edge" isn't the market. Their edge is selling the dream to you.

Mathematically, trading looks solvable. If you maintain a 2:1 win/loss ratio and strictly adhere to stop losses, you profit. But that assumes you are a calculator. You are not. You are a "moist robot"—a bag of chemicals and emotions. The 95% failure rate in retail trading exists because panic and greed override math every time.

Day trading is a zero-sum game. For you to win, someone else has to lose. Who is on the other side of your trade? It is likely an institutional algorithm running on a supercomputer, managed by a team of PhDs. Does a retail trader really have an edge against that?

Let's look at the "System" of trading vs. the "System" of Career.

The Trading System: You deploy $10k, and make 2% from it(which is about $200 per trade) when you win, and loosing 1% from it (about $100 per trade). You take 15 trades where 10 were winners, and 5 were losers. you have made yourself $1500. This is a decent outcome. that is 15% return on the money and extraordinary returns. But  bought yourself a high-stress job, at least in the beginning.

Someone can also say that if they can replicate the same maths on $100k or $1M, the numbers are massive. 

The Passive System: I put that same money in an index fund. It makes 10-12% historically for me. 

Effort: Zero minutes. Stress: Zero.

I realized that if I take the energy I would have wasted staring at charts and apply it to my actual job—getting better at sales, building a scalable product, or improving my "talent stack"—the returns are exponentially higher.

Ultimately everything needs efforts and expertise. unless we commit to trading and ready to pour a few years in learning the skill, looking at it as a money printing machine how YouTubers make you feel is wrong. It is just like professional value, and you need to make yourself valuable and skillful to gain the best outcome.

What are your thoughts?

The Continuous cycle of upgrades

The Upgrade Trance

I’m seeing a lot of people in my gym carrying the latest iPhones. Same with the newest Nikes and Jordan hoodies. It’s that time of year.

Living in America means living in a continuous cycle of "new." The observation here isn't just that people have money. It's that they have a burning biological need to exchange that money for the latest shiny object.

While the culture of "showing off" isn't as blatant here as it is in India, the result is the same. I have yet to see a pair of shoes in my gym that looks worn out. You almost never see utility in the wild. You only see status signaling.

The Persuasion Game

This cycle is fantastic for the economy. Companies are motivated to make marginal improvements because they know you can’t help yourself.

As a marketer, you have to admire the elegance of it. Look at the trends for Hydroflasks and Stanley cups. There is no logic there. A cup is a cup. But if you can convince a population that owning a specific metal tube is a personality trait, you have won the game.

UX designers and product teams are essentially hacking the wires in your brain. When they tweak an app and usage goes up, that’s not "improvement." That’s successful hypnosis. They figured out which buttons to push to make the moist robot (you) respond.

The Guinea Pig Problem

Great for the economy. Bad for you.

When you chase the upgrade, you are a guinea pig in a lab who thinks he’s the scientist. You are trying to fill a psychological hole with a physical object. That never works, but it’s profitable for Apple to let you keep trying.

There is a difference between Vanity and Utility.

In my family, we have a system: We buy high quality, and we run it into the ground.

• My last phone: Galaxy Note 9. I used it for 8 years. I only changed it because my wife wanted us to upgrade together.

• Current phone: S23 Ultra. It runs like a tank.

• My laptop: A 2019 16-inch MacBook Pro.

• Previous laptop: A 2011 MacBook Pro that we still own. It’s slow, but it works.

The Output Filter

Most people use a $1,200 phone to scroll Instagram and get angry at strangers on Facebook. You can do that on a potato.

My criteria for an upgrade is simple: Will this significantly improve my workflow and output?

If the answer is no, I don't care about the thinner bezels. I don't care about the titanium finish.

If you aren't upgrading based on a cold calculation of utility, you aren't a consumer. You're the product.

The Basement, the Flow, and the Illusion of Control

 There are a few days, where I wake up and go through the day like a zombie.

It feels like we are on autopilot. life sucks. or that's how it feels like.

Nothing interesting is happening at work. We are not travelling.

Not many friends around in naperville. 

The family is busy with their things, and feels like no one cares.

It's too cold. it's gloomy outside. Gets dark at 3 pm.

I came to states because I got to work in a global environment with global customers.

but, I mostly work from home, from my basement. 

Spend too much time watching TV.

Why are we here?

Then there are other days, where it feels very different.

I spend few hours writing, journaling and creating posts for linkedin, blog and share what I am learning.

I spend 15 minutes to 60 minutes reading a book. that is my favorite, when I do it

I practice guitar for 15 minutes.

I go running. (even 30 minutes feels magical for what it can do for my mind).

I cook for the family or clean up my room.

I move my body more, and drink a few glasses of cold water.

Feel like I dont have enough time. 

No time to waste on useless social pleasantries and I avoid invites.

Things feel very different. I can see the absolutely different side of life.

It is well known, that two different people in the same environment, surroundings can react differently. I think the key is what is going on in their heads. 

Some days, my basement feels dull, and as if the life has come to a stop here.

Some days, I am in such a flow that I dont even realize that the light was not turned on.

If we are turned on from inside, driven from the right place, everything else works.

Do you see, I didnt talk about the results in any of these situations?

The outcomes are not in our hands. those are results of several variables.

The most important thing is feed the right ingredients to your brain.

If you brain is going in the right direction, everything else will too.

Cheers

Saurabh

Social Animal, Social Junkie: We Have Confused Survival with Performance.

 We call ourselves social animals. It is a phrase used everywhere.

If a person works alone, someone will advise them: "We are social animals. Go work with others." If a person is too focused on their hobbies, they are labeled anti-social. They are not social enough.

But what does social mean today?

We have taken to social media like fish to water. Because the name contains the word "social," we believe this is what true social life looks like. It means spending four or five hours a day on these websites. It means endless scrolling. It means stalking, liking, and commenting.

Then we ask ourselves the big questions: Why is loneliness an epidemic? Why are mental health issues growing? Why do we lack genuine relationships? Why do all our connections feel surface-level?

This is starkly visible in the younger generation. I observe my daughter, a high school sophomore, and her friends. A couple of her friendships are deep. The interactions there are real.

But the others are different. If they meet on the street, the initial reaction is loud. "Hiiii!" It is an explosion of simulated excitement. It sounds like two lost sisters have finally reunited.

After that initial burst, the conversation is completely flaccid. Nothing happens. They walk away and carry on with their lives. The chatter is mostly material. New shoes. Bubble tea. A new Hydroflask. Someone’s obsession with coffee. Or a particular guy in class.

We have completely ruined the meaning of being social.

The True Meaning of the Tribe

We used to live in tribes. This was not a choice. It was a requirement. It meant we were fundamentally interdependent.

No single person could do everything. One person could not grow the food, build the shelter, provide protection, and manage the tribe’s knowledge. The people within the tribe depended on each other for their very survival.

Imagine a small, functional community. The blacksmith needed the farmer for grain. The farmer needed the carpenter for the plow. The carpenter needed the weaver for clothes. This was the original barter system. Interdependence was the rule.

Where can we still see this? Look at a small Amish community. Look at specialized teams in military operations. Look at the intense collaboration required to launch a rocket. In these places, everyone in the system is important. A breakdown in one role means failure for all.

Even before the tribe, when we hunted in groups, we depended on the person next to us. Our life literally depended on their vigilance.

This is the origin of the true Social Animal. It means being deeply connected. It means depending on someone. It means taking responsibility for a crucial part of the shared survival.

The Great Disconnect

This original contract has been thrown out the window.

Today, we live in isolation. In most neighborhoods, we do not know the names of the people who live left, right, front, or back of us.

We have garages full of tools. Everyone owns their own set. Asking to borrow something from a neighbor is considered a big deal. It feels like an imposition.

This detachment is wonderful for companies. It helps them sell more. They sell every individual their own drill, their own ladder, their own snow blower. It even creates entire rental businesses, replacing the easy connection we once had with a simple transaction.

The same decay is visible at work.

Most networking events, especially in sales circles, are just about taking. How can I sell more? How can I maximize my advantage?

The core concept of giving and hence receiving is completely missing. Companies do not have time for deep connections. They demand monetization as soon as possible. Networking is transactional, not foundational.

We chase likes and followers. These are metrics of attention, not metrics of accountability. They give the shallow illusion of connection without demanding any of the effort, vulnerability, or interdependence required for a genuine relationship.

Building the New Community

The modern use of "social animal" is a lie.

It may be best to stop calling ourselves social animals entirely. Not unless we start going back to the roots of what made us great survivors: the ability to build communities.

We survived not because we could scroll or like, but because we could trust and depend.

If you seek less loneliness and more mental health, look past the screen. Recognize the 2 to 5 people in your life who actually show up. Focus your energy there. Do not just talk to them. Depend on them. Let them depend on you. Take responsibility for their well-being, and let them take responsibility for yours.

That mutual dependency is the engine of true community. It is the real contract of the social animal. The closer you get to that core, the less you will feel the need to seek validation in the endless noise of the non-social media world.

My thoughts on the Emptiness of Birthdays and Anniversaries

Yesterday, December 3rd, marked our 18th wedding anniversary.

My wife, Dipti, places great significance on these landmark dates. They are meaningful to her. I am different. I do not.

I will admit: there is a slight, undeniable niceness in the air on these days. It offers an opportunity. It forces a reflection on the journey. Our marriage has been anything but a beautiful fairy tale. It has been rocky. Yet, it is still rock steady and we have put in a lot of work. and we are proud of it.

That reflection, however, is a reminder.

It reminds me how I truly feel about birthdays and anniversaries.

The Visibility Trap: When Expression Meets Effort

 We easily abandon efforts that yield few initial results. We try for a time, then let go.

For weeks, I have contemplated a question: How do I create more visibility?

AI tools and social media experts offer the same advice: Build content. Grab attention.

Conversely, I believe—as Naval Ravikant notes—that quality work naturally attracts its network. We should not chase mindless networking.

This principle may hold true for B2C or B2B services. However, as an individual, you must still present your views for industry leaders and peers to find them. The motive is not ulterior. It is ensuring the voice inside is heard. This matters to me.