Trading Psychology article: A powerful ability to improve your decision-making

What is the primary cause of stress and emotional interference for you in your trading?

The past.

Every time you feel anxiety, it’s the past trades gone bad flashing through your mind

Perhaps guilt over not reaching your goals, over the mistakes you’ve made that cost you, over not getting yourself organized, over the money you’ve lost.

Perhaps it’s anger, frustration, or any of the other feelings that come up when the past works its way into this moment.

So what can you do, quickly to keep those memories from making today a good trading day?

FORGIVE.

You see, the past no longer exists except in your mind.  And you can let it go.

That’s what forgiving is all about:  letting go of hurt, resentment, guilt.

The list goes on, but NONE of those things serve you well.

If you’ve ever watched an infant, they can be totally upset one moment and then smiling and laughing the next.  They still aren’t even aware to hang on to the unpleasant experiences that occur.

We learn as we grow up to hang on to the ‘garbage’ from the past, but we weren’t originally that way.  You were born with this ability to let go and forgive, but over time it has simply become a mental habit to hang onto the past, a habit that has been conditioned into you by you and others.

When you can release and let go of thoughts of the past (or future), nothing exists but the here and now.

And that really is all that matters.  What is happening right here, right now.

To make it easier to let go and forgive, first realize that it is the past and that you are human.  Allow yourself (or whatever you may be holding negative feelings about) to simply be as it is or was, and let go of the desire to make it any different.

The present is all you ever have to work with, and every moment can be new - if you simply allow it to be.

Open your mind to new possibilities and make space in your mind for today to be a new day.  You can’t change the past, but you can make today a good day.

To quote a wise Sensei,

“The past is history.  Tomorrow a mystery.  But today is a gift, that is why it is called the present.”

Begin allowing your days to be better than the past rather than a replay.  Forgive it and let it go so that you can allow a new pattern to unfold.

Cheers

Brian

Trading Psychology - Highly Useful Wisdom From Ronald Reagan

Brian here and I’ve got a short story to share with you that includes a wisdom from Ronald Reagan that is directly applicable to your trading.

The short story.

I remember being back in high school and one thing that really had me very bummed out was the general apathy about being an American citizen.

Personally, I’d grown up with the ideals and dreams of my generation, and aspirations of one day becoming an astronaut or maybe even President.

For my whole life, I’d always been very proud to be an American.

With the aftermath of Viet Nam, the whole Watergate debacle, the mid-70’s oil crisis and subsequent depression, and then the hostage situation in Iran during the Carter administration, it had become commonplace for Americans to have a pretty crumby opinion of the U.S.

When I heard my friends and schoolmates talking about the draft, a common sentiment expressed was “Screw that!  I’m not getting drafted!  I’ll head up to Canada first.  I’m not putting my life on the line for this country!”

Every time I heard a comment like that, it hurt.

When Reagan took office in 1980, he was stepping into a tremendously challenging situation:  apathy was rampant, the economy was in shambles, inflation was at record levels, and to top it all off, the Cold War was still going on.

In addition to all the ‘normal’ things that a President has to deal with, the Soviets were a very real threat to the physical safety of all Americans.

Nuclear arms were built up to where the entire Earth could be completely destroyed many times over.  Two giants standing face-to-face with bazookas pointing at each other’s heads.

But Reagan was able to get matters to the point of negotiating arms reduction, something that neither side was previously ready to do.

Reagan’s Challenge That Relates Directly to You as a Trader.

During this process of dismantling ballistic missiles and warheads, Reagan new that the risks were incredibly high if the Soviets didn’t keep their end of the bargain.

He was in a position where positive progress was finally being made to end the Cold War, and finally bring peace and a feeling of security to America.  The benefits were very high if he could make it happen, while at the same time it could be catastrophic if we dismantled our arms and the Soviets didn’t.

What a spot to be in:  achieve peace after 40 years of hard work or lose everything.

Do you think that maybe he was feeling some stress, anxiety and doubt in this situation?  Pretty safe bet he was.

But President Reagan was no fool.

He’d lived through the Great Depression and World War II, some pretty challenging times for our country and for all the individual citizens of the U.S.

Ending the Cold War through peaceful means was finally at-hand, but it required the one thing that is hardest for anyone to do:  TRUST

In this situation of dealing with a hostile adversary, but being forced to go ahead and “lay down the weapons”, Reagan knew that BLIND trust would be foolhardy with the Soviets - they’d shown many times over that it wouldn’t work, so he employed a wisdom that you can use too:

Reagan knew that if he could arrange a way for both sides to verify that the promises made were being lived up to, then the doubt they both felt could be eliminated and they could proceed forward to a monumental, historical achievement.

Without verification, the whole process was at risk of failure.

How This Relates to You and Your Trading

The underlying question that is running through the back of your mind whenever you feel any anxiety, hesitation or the temptation to second-guess your trading system is:

The same goes for when you are on a website considering buying new trading system.  Sure there are going to be big claims about how much money has been made with it.

Even if it sounds great, looks great and even has published results to back it up, you’re left in a lousy position:  you have to go on TRUST.

If you don’t have a method and a tool to quickly and confidently VERIFY that indeed the trading system is good, to know HOW good it is, and that it will work FOR YOU, then you are forced into a spot similar to Reagan: stress and anxiety - because you are going on the word of someone else.

And the first time you hit a handful of losing trades, DOUBT comes in and amplifies the problem, making your confidence start circling the drain and having the discipline to stick to the system next to impossible.

So how do you TRUST BUT VERIFY?

That’s what the Trading Performance Analyzer is for.  It gives you that verification, that PROOF, so that you can proceed forward toward your goals with peace of mind and know that the system you have WORKS and it works for you - with ZERO RISK.

It gives you that confidence you need to stick to your system when losing trades occur.

Don’t yet have a system?  Looking for one that’s better than yours?  Do you just want to optimize your system?

The Analyzer let’s you see IMMEDIATELY the strengths and weaknesses of any system or change that you might consider - and how it will affect your bottom line.

You can find out the objective TRUTH about how good a trading system is WITHOUT RISKING A PENNY.

In addition to giving you peace of mind and security in the fastest, easiest way possible, you can save $20 right now.  Use the coupon code

Try it risk free right now

You can have the greatest turnaround experience in your trading - before today is out - with the Trading Performance Analyzer.  No B.S.

Here are just a few of the comments that I’ve received about the Trading Performance Analyzer:

When you get the Trading Performance Analyzer right now, you will also receive access to one of the training videos that was part of the Proven-Method Mentoring that traders paid $1,000 for.

You owe it to yourself as the owner of your business to only be working with what you KNOW works.

This is the fastest, easiest way to ‘trust but verify’ when it comes to trading systems.

Cheers

Brian

It brought everyone in the room to tears.

Day Trading Forex Currency - More Important Than Stop, Entry and Exit

So many trading systems completely miss the most important part of being profitable.

It’s a real shame too because all they seem to focus on is the setup, stop, entry and exit.

Now to the novice trader, this is what a trading system is all about.

They think that so long as you have these four bits of information, you should be able to consistently produce profitable trades.

But if that were true, then how could it be possible for random-entry systems and coin-flip trading systems be profitable?

The key is strategic money management.

WITH sound money management, even a purely random entry system, even a trading system that chooses entries based on the flip of a coin, can be quite profitable.

Without it, even a great selective trading system can lose money.

Now there is more to it than simply setting your maximum per-trade loss, while at the same time, it isn’t that difficult - when you know what to do.

Join me and David Jenyns for a live webinar tomorrow night where you’ll discover how to control YOUR profit and risk through strategic money management.

There is no cost to attend!

Click here to register

You’re only cheating yourself if you don’t!

Cheers

Brian

P.S. What does this notion about money management mean for YOU?

The underlying implication is that you could probably take your existing system, even if it hasn’t been profitable for you so far and make it profitable through sound money management!

Still skeptical?  That’s understandable.  But there is a quick and easy way to PROVE IT to yourself with ZERO risk.

You can use this to test ANY trading system or money-management strategy completely risk-free, plus track your trading throughout the year to ensure continuous improvement and consistency.

Go here to find out more

use the coupon code  56B25A258E to save $20.00!

Trading Psychology - Avoid the Top Success-Killer and Save $180!

There is a success-killer for traders, it’s the #1 problem for nearly ALL traders, and the surprising thing is, you WON’T find it in any trading book.

Now don’t feel bad, because this happens to a LOT of traders.

You’ve experienced this problem yourself a number of times, probably even recently.

You’re fully aware of it when it happens.

You want to deny it, and even distract yourself in hopes that it will just go away.

And then you kick yourself later for letting it happen again, because you know both consciously and on a deeper level that you’re paying a very high price when you allow yourself to do it.

What is this big problem and why does it happen in the first place?

PROCRASTINATION

There are a number of contributing factors:

• information overload
• negative self-talk
• feeling ‘beaten down’ from so many bad or mediocre months
• you’ve gone through the cycle of getting all fired up about a new trading system you just bought, only to find out that it really doesn’t work, at least not for you
• you’ve got too many things going on and you wind up giving each only partial attention, and so you have a whole bunch of projects started, but not completed.

It’s just so much easier to avoid the pressure of having to do something, even if it means accepting the ‘less than desirable’ status quo.

But the problem doesn’t really go away.

It always comes back to haunt you when you get to the end of yet another month without making the kind of profits that you wanted and you’re looking at next month knowing that you need to do something, and then the cycle starts all over again.

So what can you do?

3 simple things:  Prioritize, Focus and take focused ACTION on the ONE most important item until it is completed.

Make that #1 item your top priority, and let everything else wait.

Now this is important, so listen up: make sure that your top priority is what will make TOMORROW easier and more profitable, so that when tomorrow comes, you’re starting it a step ahead, not at the point you are now.

Too many traders are extremely short-sighted, so they only focus on making money today.

What happens?

Every day has the same starting point and no real progress is made, there never comes the day when the pressure is off because they never gave themselves the benefit of a head start by focusing on important matters rather than the apparent urgent ones.

Here is some direction to help you right now, and since Father’s Day is this weekend, I’m going to make it even easier for you to take the proper action right now.

• If you seem be to spinning your wheels and wondering around in circles going from one thing to the next because you haven’t yet gotten organized…If you seem to have a whole pile of things that you know you need to do, then your focus is on clarifying direction, organizing your business, and assembling a business plan.

  To really give yourself some peace of mind and make tomorrow and the coming months easier and more profitable, then going through the simple process of getting yourself and your trading business properly organized in a step-by-step progression, with focus on one item at a time, is the best way for you to go.

  That’s what the P.I.T. Club is all about:  taking you by the hand and walking you one step at a time through the process to eliminate the many issues that have been holding you back.  You’ll give yourself direction, structure and best of all a real Business Plan for your trading business.

  Click here and Use coupon code: 9A62BBCD94 to save $180!

• If your business IS organized and you DO have a business plan, but don’t currently have a system that works, then your focus is on getting ONE system that works.  To do this quickly, take these three steps:

• If you have a business plan and a working system, but are still find yourself making the same mistakes over and over again, then your focus is on identifying the triggers that are causing the emotional bad decisions.Quickly identify and eliminate the problems that are causing you to repeatedly create losses with The Trader’s Guide to Emotional Management.

  NOTE:  only get this if you have already confirmed your trading system!

  Click here and Use coupon code:  70C634E470 to SAVE $30!

Remember, the question to be asking is “what should I be doing right now to have the biggest impact on my trading - tomorrow and next month?”

Follow the steps above and FOCUS on that ONE thing.

Stop wasting time and start making real progress by taking focused action right now.

Cheers

Brian

P.S. Time is money and I’m sure you DON’T want to keep going through the cycle of procrastination - no results - regret.

Procrastinate next year after your real issues are behind you.  Take action today and feel good about it!

Day Trading Forex Currency - The Number 1 Question To Ask

What is the #1 question you should be asking yourself, right now?

If you are serious about actually realizing the rewards of becoming a consistently profitable trader, then there is one question you should be asking every day…

…and NO it isn’t “how can I make a lot of money?”

That one is probably one that has run through your head plenty of times, but is it serving you well?  Is it getting you there?  Probably not because it is too vague.

The one question that you SHOULD be asking is,

“Where am I truly at right now and what is the ONE thing I need to focus on to have the BIGGEST impact on my trading, right now?

And then when the profits don’t come that you want you are left wondering “what happened?”

Without proper focus, little to no progress is realized. (Notice the word *proper*)

What I see way too many traders do is spend 99% of their time chasing magic-pill trading systems and robots.  And they never actually stop to create a business, let alone a solid business that they love and fits their lifestyle.

So what their life ends up being is…

Regularly changing systems and / or markets and / or time frames, buying the latest and greatest “we just cracked the code” holy grail system, or just playing around with different indicators, hoping to find that combination that works in forecasting what the markets will do.

Or even worse, they just keep throwing their money at the markets with what they call a system but really isn’t one, hoping that somehow someday, and without doing anything different, they will suddenly start making those consistent profits that set them free.

That ain’t gonna happen and if you want different results you have take action, specifically these three steps.

Recognizing where you are now is the first step because you are more than simply someone who trades.

When you decided to become a trader, you started a business - your own trading business - with the dream of reliable consistent profits that will provide the lifestyle and security you desire.

How can you expect your business to be reliable and consistent if it is NOT organized, if it lacks direction, or if there is no plan for your business?

How can you expect to realize your freedom and wealth without taking the proper steps get from where you are now to where you want to be?

Its the principle of FOCUS that we’re talking about.

You need to look at where ‘here’ is and identify your most important step to be taking right now.

For most traders the first step is very simply to get their trading business properly organized.

You see, 99% of the problems that most traders face is lacking direction, organization and a plan.

The result is tons of wasted weeks, months and often years and thousands in lost trading capital.

When you are organized, you have clear direction and a plan, only then can you avoid the information overload, the dozens or sometimes hundreds of distractions.  It is only then that you can focus and make real progress.

For your business to grow and thrive, your primary focus for the owner / manager must be to devote a prudent portion of your time to working ON your business, not just IN it.

So what does working on your business mean?

It means clarifying where you are now and focusing your energy and resources on the most important item.

• If you find that you seem to spinning your wheels and wondering around in circles going from one thing to the next because you haven’t yet gotten organized, then your focus is on clarifying direction, organizing your business, and assembling a business plan.  For help on this click here.

• If your business is organized and you have a business plan, but don’t currently have a system that works, then your focus is on getting ONE system that works.  To do this quickly, take these three steps:

• If you have a business plan and a working system, but are still find yourself making the same mistakes over and over again, then your focus is on identifying the triggers that are causing the emotional bad decisions.
  For help on this click here.

Remember, the question to be asking is “what should I be doing right now to have the biggest impact on my trading?”

Follow the steps above and FOCUS on that ONE thing.

Make real progress and stop wasting time.

Cheers

Brian

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• Recent Posts

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  • [Psychology of Trading] Why It’s A Mistake To Be A Courageous Trader
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