Keeping a trading journal is one of the most important elements of successful trading in the financial markets. Regardless of your level of experience, documenting your trades and decisions can significantly improve your trading efficiency and profitability. A trading journal not only helps you track your results, but also helps you grow by analyzing your actions and conclusions. A trading journal provides an opportunity to thoroughly analyze your trading strategy. In it you can record all parameters of trades: entry point, exit, indicators used, reasons for opening a position and even emotional states at the moment of decision making. By reviewing this analysis, one can identify the strengths and weaknesses of his strategy. For example, he can notice that at certain moments of the market his strategy does not work and make changes in time. Risk control is a key factor in long-term trading success. A trading journal allows for more effective risk management, as the trader can track how he is performing his risk management rules. Emotions play a huge role in trading. Fear, greed, uncertainty – all these feelings can negatively affect decision making and lead to impulsive trades. In a trading journal there is an opportunity to record your emotional states during trading. For example, records may contain information about opening a position out of fear of missing a profit or, on the contrary, holding a losing position for too long because of unwillingness to admit a mistake. Often beginners make mistakes in assessing their success. Sometimes success or failure is judged by the short-term results of one or more trades. However, keeping a trading journal allows you to look at the results of trading objectively, in the long term. Not only the number of profitable trades is important, but also the overall balance, risk/return ratio, and adherence to strategy rules. With the help of a trading journal you can track recurring market patterns that may occur at certain stages of the market. Regular analysis of your trades and market conditions helps you identify patterns that can be useful for building new strategies or improving existing ones. A trading journal is also a tool for setting and achieving goals. Traders can set specific goals for themselves (e.g., a certain percentage of returns for the month, improving the ratio of profitable to losing trades, etc.) and track their progress. Keeping regular records helps to see successes and motivates one to keep working on improving their skills. Keeping a trading journal is not just a formality, but an important tool that allows you to objectively evaluate your trading, analyze mistakes, improve strategies and develop discipline. A journal helps you manage risk, control emotions and draw conclusions based on factual data rather than subjective impressions. Regardless of the level of training, a trading journal can become the basis for professional growth and long-term success in trading.