| Can we change our state? Absolutely. Let’s look at some tools.
Our first tool is journaling. Expressing feelings is a healthy process. As we empty ‘out’ what is on our mind onto paper, we may notice significant changes on how we feel. We get it out of your system and feel better having released it. We may also find some interesting things about ourselves. When I first started journaling, I found that words flow easily when I am writing bad feelings. It is said that there are four times as many negative words in the English language as positive words.
Let’s do a quick exercise. Pick an event that relates to your trading that created negative feelings. How long would you write about it? Then pick another event that also relates to your trading that created positive feelings. How long would you write about it? Is one more than the other? We are now getting an insight on our outlook on trading and our life. How do we take a short cut and change this? We expand the positive, describe it, articulate it and keep it alive. At the same time we minimise the negative, shrink it, stop talking about it, forgetting all the negative words and letting them fade away.
Another way to change our state is to run through the day’s events before we are done for the day. We then replay the events that did not turn out the way we wanted in our head with a favourable outcome. We re-write our history changing any aspect of a past event (some would say history is written like that anyway!) We use our mind in our favour.
Our last tool is called reverse journaling. Tonight, before you go to bed, write about your tomorrow (as if you are writing at the end of tomorrow). Write about what happened, what did not happen. Write about all the things you experienced, felt or thought. Include lots and lots of positivity, praise, optimism, abundance, profit, love, joy, and confidence.
Here is a summary of our tools:
- Journaling – writing about the past
- Expanding the positive, minimising the negative
- Re-writing your history
- Reverse Journaling – writing about the future
Use these tools and apply them. Keep this up for 30-60 days. Notice what difference it makes. Get better at it. Praise yourself. Reward yourself. Increase your positive expectations of yourself, your day and the events of your day. Sounds simple? Great, go do it. Sounds hard? Go do it anyway.
Believe, achieve.
Sinan Koray
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In conclusion, changing your state is important because you want to be in peak mental and emotional condition when you trade. Using these techniques will assist you in putting outside influences or bad experiences, trading related or otherwise, behind you before making important trading decisions. | |