Trading rewards people who can think critically, adapt, and learn. It does not reward people who look for shortcuts, rigid formulas, or someone else to do the thinking for them.

If you can’t take the initiative to figure out basic concepts, it’s hard to compete with traders who are constantly refining their process.

Why critical thinking matters in trading

Markets change. Strategies decay. Conditions shift. The traders who last are the ones who keep learning and adjusting.

• Critical thinkers test ideas instead of memorizing rules
• They learn new techniques and improve execution over time
• They use tools as references, not as guarantees

Your edge comes from how you interpret information, not from knowing a formula.

Levels are “areas of interest,” not automatic trades

Brian’s perspective is consistent across tools like VWAP, support levels, and moving averages: they are levels of interest.

• A level is where you pay attention
• It’s where buyers might gain control on a pullback
• It is not a reason to buy by itself

Price must confirm the idea before money is committed.

Seasonality is also a level of interest

Seasonality can be useful, but it’s still just context. It’s a “time of interest,” not a forecast.

• Certain times of year may be weaker on average
• But averages do not override the current trend
• If price is trending higher, that’s the information that matters most

Believe what’s happening in front of you.

Important note

Indicators, seasonality, and support levels are not the market. They are tools to organize attention.

The market’s truth is always in price behavior.

Example

If seasonality suggests weakness but the market is making higher highs and holding pullbacks, the higher-probability decision is to respect the uptrend.

Seasonality is an average – price is reality.

The takeaway

• Think critically and learn independently
• Treat tools as levels of interest, not buy signals
• Use seasonality as context, not a prediction
• Trust price over averages

In trading, critical thinking isn’t optional – it’s the edge.