Mindfulness in trading

In this article, we talk about developing a winning attitude and the importance of being aware of what is going on in your head while trading. Mindfulness is certainly an important aspect of trading psychology.

You need to be aware of your emotions, and be able to take control over them. 

Emotional regulation is very important, but it only gets you to the door of your mind, and what you want to do is look inside of your mind and understand the context.

You need to comprehend that your thoughts lead to your emotions, your emotions lead to your actions, and your actions lead to your results. 

After proving yourself right over and over again, your thoughts become your beliefs. Beliefs then become automatic thoughts that drive your behaviour.

Try to stop now and concentrate exclusively on yourself. 

What are your thoughts, beliefs and emotions while trading?

Imagine your worst trade.

Now imagine your best one.

What were your thoughts when you started? Then what were your thoughts during the process? What about your emotions? Have they impacted your trading decisions afterwards?

Watch yourself

You need to observe how you respond to certain circumstances.

You don’t have to react all the time, you may just step back, breathe, and observe.

You don’t have to take the beliefs that you once held and project them on to the markets because what you discover very quickly (as an observer) is that you don’t have beliefs, you don’t have thoughts – THEY HAVE YOU.

The capacity to think about our thinking and reflect on our actions before we react to situations is called self-awareness.

A self-aware trader stands back from his or her reactions, notices his or her thoughts and feelings, observes the tendency to act upon them, and then steps back to decide on their best action plan.

Look at your emotions, regulate them. What you really need to understand is that you are not your emotions, you are not your thoughts, beliefs – so be aware of that. Recognize that your awareness and your thoughts/beliefs are not the same. Separate yourself from them. Become an observer. Develop your skill to observe as that is what makes the real difference.

Reconstruct your mind

The ability to recognise that your thoughts and you are not the same allows you to realize that you can reorganize your mind into the higher functioning – and that’s so powerful – and that is the way how to achieve the change you’ve been striving for.

The ability to see what is inside your mind makes you so much stronger. Because not being mindful is one aspect that’s been limiting your performance.

You need to recognize that all of these self-limiting beliefs are not true and they are not a part of you. You can learn how to easily get rid of them. 

You just need to recognize them first, realize that they’re not you, but rather an organisation of the self – that involved before you could even think. 

And now it’s time to look at it, to deconstruct it, reconstruct it – that is the treasure mind.

In neurobiology we would say that you do not see reality, you do not live in reality, your brain takes the data from all our sensory systems and creates a map, a virtual simulation.

That is how you experience the world, that is what you see, that is what you see in the markets. You see the effectiveness of that virtual simulation every single day.

So please be kind to yourself and make your mind a beautiful place. Believe in yourself, clap for yourself during the process. Step back when you encounter any negative or intense thoughts. 

Do not let them impact your decisions, your long term goals.

Just observe and trust the process.

If your mind remains calm and you follow your strategy, everything is gonna be fine. 

Trading Jounal

A great tool for improving your awareness is journaling all your thoughts and feelings that arise during your trading. 

Keep journaling before and after every trade and try to be mindful of all connection(s) among the situations, thoughts, emotions and actions. 

And if you are still struggling with this, do not hesitate to contact your coach or somebody who is able to help you.

In Conclusion

Being mindful in your trading is key to mastering trading psychology. Be aware of your emotions and thoughts while you trade.

Journal your experience and you are likely to see positive results coming very soon.