Over the years I have written a bunch of posts based on my experience and there is one written by Hanan on my personal trading journey. Do check them out and remember that there is no easy money in the markets. Markets are a zero sum game and if you are trading derivatives and if you have to make money, remember that on the opposite side are some of the best folks with the deepest pockets.
The edge that a retail investor over a professional is the ability to remain nimble, which is to be able to enter and exit fast without losing too much money in impact cost. Also the retail investor unlike a professional one isn’t in a pressure to generate returns for someone else. To be able to come on top of this game over the long run, you need to leverage on the edge you have as a retail investor. So trade with as little, don’t put unnecessary % return targets which can anyways never be met, when in doubt exit, etc.