As I’ve often said, this business is about knowing when to press the accelerator and knowing when to back off.

And that’s certainly true whether one is talking about portions of a day, week, month, or career.

So as (1) the summer winds down, (2) I continue the slow physical recovery and healing process, and (3) as the result of two consecutive draw days where based on the chart action I’d normally clean up (no major damage, just clearly not at full mental strength), I’m essentially allowing myself to put the car in park over the remaining weeks of August.

#3 is fairly significant for me, as consecutive draws — no matter what the reason — are an extremely rare occurance (and I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve had three in my entire career), so it tells me that despite my best night’s sleep in two weeks, I still have a ways to go to get back to full physical and mental strength.

I’m sure many will remind me that I was hooked up to tubes and wires in the E.R.  just four days ago, yet I’ll always defer to my actual performance as the ultimate coach and judge.  Always.

And two rare draws during (1) extremely fertile and obvious intraday setups and (2) amidst one of my stronger periods of performance tells me that my head’s just not into it right now.  A bit too early or late in this business makes all the difference.

Push it when you feel it, back off when you don’t.

It’s what worked for Tom Cruise (Kaffee) when he went after Jack Nicholson (Jessep) and got him to admit to the Code Red in A Few Good Men.

And it’s what I don’t feel right now.

Those who have seen the movie know that until the trial with Jessep, normally “plea-bargaining” Kaffee was unfamiliar with the courtroom surroundings … stating something to the effect of “So this is what the inside of a courtroom looks like” toward the end of the movie after winning the trial.

I share a similar feeling in terms of slowing down.

So this what the “P” stands for on the gearshift.