Using the Power of Thought
 
By Robin Dayne

So many times I get calls from traders saying: "I know exactly what I should do but I can't seem to stop the bad trading pattern.  Sometimes by identifying what is working can help a trader change what is not working.

Now that I have you totally confused let me explain. When you really understand how your own mind works as you're trading, and what thoughts are occurring you can take this and help modify a bad behavior but you have to pay attention. Really understanding how you react to different situations is the key and the more you can define it, the easier you will be able to reproduce and use when you need to.

Before I tell you this technique I must go on record saying: "THIS IS NOT FOR EVERYONE."

It is for those who seem to trade BETTER after they have had several losses or lose an amount of money that makes them get serious. If this is not YOUR style than PLEASE DON'T do this, it could end up doing more harm than good. SO you have been forewarned.

OK - I Know – What the heck am I talking about? Let me back up.

I think it would be best if I give you an example. Here is an example of a common problem and trading reaction that can be used when bad pattern comes up to recondition and fake-out the mind.

The key thing to remember is that the mind will store anything you give it good and bad and it doesn't filter out things that are not true it hold everything. So if you tell you mind one thing over and over it WILL believe it through the process of repetition.

This recently came up again while coaching and I have seen this many times but I don't think I have passed this on to you.  Some traders actually get rejuvenated in their trading when they lose.  When they lose several times or go down more money than they would like, they say to themselves "OK, I have messed up enough, now it's time to hunker-down and really trade right." They take a deep breath get more focused more serious more diligent and all of a sudden their trading really improves.

One winning trade after another after another and before you know it they a have it all back and are now profitable again and they finish their day up.

Then they think to themselves: "If only I had caught myself sooner if only I started that way I would be up three times as much now." They are right, if only they had changed their mind-set sooner in the day they would be up and really feel great.

Well there is a way to do this. There is a way to trick the mind sooner so the turn-around comes sooner.  It does take a bit of work but it really can pay off and save some future pain and lost profits.

Here is how you do it. First, think of the exact time when you were down big and pulled it back out.  What exactly did you do?  What did you look at?  What did you do different? Did you change your size?  Did you test more? Did you use different indicators?  Were you more patient?  Write down EVERYTHING you can think of that you did to turn it around.

Now here is the really, really cool part.  Identify the bad situation in detail too. How many bad trades did you do? How much did you lose? What rules were you breaking?  Did you close the trade too soon?  Did you enter too fast?  The more you can describe the better.  You want this to cause the same bad feeling WITHOUT it really happening. It's just in your mind.  Even take a piece of paper and create a trading fictitious trading log with bad trades and results. Put a post-it over your P&L showing a negative number. The goal is to really feel it.

Now here is how you use it.  Read and feel all this BEFORE you begin trading. Put your mind in that place. Pretend the losses and feel the pain emotionally.

Now bring back that other feeling of determination and go into the "I can do this" I am a great trade," "watch me," attitude.

Bottom line – the goal is to make the mind THINK and FEEL all the bad feelings in the moment so you then get serious with your trading BEFORE you actually lose the money or have the trading losers.

We are tricking the mind so we trade the way we want to.  The mind only knows what you tell it even if it's fake or not real. Pretend. We used to do this as kids and would believe we were different people, like the Captain of the army or the Fireman and in my case the Princess being rescued from the tower, whatever works for you.

Use pretend situations to turn your trading around it will show you the power of your mind and prove to be a powerful tool.

In the meantime,. Great trading! ….. and be careful out there. Remember, you and only you are responsible for your trading