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At the risk of sounding like your doctor, your primary school teacher or your spouse, I will talk about exercise this week. What has that got to do with trading you might say? The answer is, a lot.
Some take up exercise when it is too late, after a serious health problem. Some just do not see the point until they are forced to by stiffening joints or bulging belly. Let’s follow the advice of Jack Welch, ex-CEO of General Electric who turned the company from a market value of $14 Billion to $410 Billion. He said: “Change before you have to.”
There are those who exercise competitively, trying to beat others or themselves each and every day. That is not the type of exercise I have in mind. What is much more beneficial for you, your life and your trading is meditative exercise, where you simply do it. There is no need to go faster, harder, longer or further. Meditative exercise is just exercising for the sake of exercising. It has physical and emotional benefits:
- Improving your strength, fitness, and confidence
- Having more energy
- Increasing your flexibility and mobility
- Helping you enjoy your body for what it can do
- Helping you to manage stress
- Lowering your heart rate
- Enhancing your breathing and oxygen intake
- Helping you to feel better about yourself
- Helping you get a better night's sleep
- Improving metabolic rate which helps prevent weight gain
- Helping to manage anger
- Improving your discipline
Some prefer a workout in the gym or a class. Some prefer solo sports like swimming, cycling, jogging or walking. Others prefer group activities like football, netball or soccer. Exercise can be fun. You do not need a lot of equipment or preparation. You can start gradually, say 5-15 minutes every other day. As you get to like it and see the benefits, you can gradually increase it. You can exercise with a friend where you motivate each other.
The best way to take it on board is to make it part of your routine. That way it enhances your discipline too. Remember, for any new skill or activity to become a habit you need to stick with it for at least thirty days.
Warning: If you have medical difficulties or are feeling pain when you exercise it is a good idea to talk to your local doctor.
How does this tie in with trading? You get to enhance your discipline, manage stress and anger, have more energy, clear your mind, feel good about yourself and get better sleep. Can you see how these attributes can and will enhance your trading?
Clear mind and healthy body lead to clearer decisions and more profits.
Believe, achieve
Sinan Koray
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