Mental and Emotional Stability

March 22, 2010 by  

The goal of trading discipline is  mental and emotional stability which  reveals crystal clarity about all aspects of trading.

It is generally approached from the viewpoint of controlling thoughts and emotions, becoming fairly dispassionate and neutral in order to execute successful trades.  Avoiding  getting  swept upon  the sea of emotions as we are deciding when to enter or when to exit,  speculating as to where  the market  is going to go next.

One scientific estimate says that we have on average 60,000 thoughts per day.  If that is true then it is an impossible task to control those wildly active viewpoints in response to what we are observing and experiencing throughout the day,  let alone the heat of trading.

Attempting to control our thoughts is stressful because it is  impossible to accomplish.  Thoughts  appear and disappear as quickly as lines drawn in water.

I have been talking about  this subject from a different viewpoint that is having very practical  results.

Allow points of view to just flow on by.  This is accomplished  by practicing brief moments of not thinking. For a brief second throughout the day, when you remember,  just stop thinking.

On the most basic level there is great relief in this simple practice that over time just becomes automatic without having to think about it.  After a lifetime of micro managing everything we begin to relax.  This simple act will begin to bring clarity to all areas of life and will skyrocket your  success as a trader.

One of the great benefits of this simple practice is that the mind grows quieter. The 60,000 thoughts become less and less and what shines through  is a clarity that  provides all the answers to questions and solutions to problems.

You find that your intuition is heightened as to when to trade and what to trade. You choose  winning stocks that go on and on.  You have clarity about the contents and length of your watch list.  You clearly know your downstream trading style and nothing can derail you from it.

The benefits are infinite. Everything becomes effortless.

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