Thinking Like Winners to Win at Trading
It can be difficult ‘switching off’ from forex trading given that it’s a twenty four hour industry. Fortunately we get to work ‘office hours’, albeit those office hours extend from London – New York – Tokyo, a punishing 18-20 hour office day. But we do have our weekends to recuperate, Friday evening until Sunday evening/Monday morning when the Asian markets finally come alive to signal the beginning of the trading week…
Sport can be a tremendous escape from the pressures of trading, whether at weekends or during the week. Competitive sport demands total focus, not engaging your grey matter in ‘market thinking’ for an hour or two can be a blessed relief.
The liberating feeling experienced during an hour of intense exercise, releasing yourself from the trials of trading, repairs and refreshes both your body and sense of well being, your overall attitude towards trading can also benefit as you approach the next session with renewed optimism. There are times when If you’ve had a losing trading session your chosen sport can offer unrivalled escapism. You get the opportunity to re-set your personal hard drive in preparation for that next session.
Our industry is sedentary, therefore getting out in the fresh air, or enjoying the company of training partners or team mates can offer a type of cognitive ‘therapy’ from the world of trading…so long as you don’t discuss trading, by now we’re all tuned into and only too aware of that blank expression and ‘thousand yard stare’ you receive when discussing trading with friends or family not involved in our industry…
There are inevitable direct comparisons with trading and sport; the mental stamina required in order to pursue a trading career, the many barriers, trails and tribulations we face is an obvious parallel, as is the need and ability to react to unique situations that occur in individual and team sports. Whether your chosen sports are individual or team there are times when you’ll recognise the comparisons. It’s also worth noting how we evaluate professional elite sportsman and relate their sporting experiences to trading. Here’s a few examples to consider.
- How many times have we all witnessed tennis players who are two sets down to then go on to win the match three – two?
- How many times have you witnessed a football team being three nil down to draw, or actually go on to win the game?
- How many times have you witnessed a boxer pick himself up off the canvass to win the fight?
- How many times have you witnessed a distance runner finally pull away from the pack at the last lap or bend, or a road cyclist find that last energy burst as the finishing line approaches?
We often focus on the wrong aspect of trading, whilst it is a cerebral activity the mental toughness and overall dedication required is akin to being an elite sportsman. We have to think like winners to succeed in trading, we have to develop a winners’ mentality as quickly as possible in order to flourish. A world class centre forward may have five shots on target throughout ninety minutes to score one goal, similarly we may have five trades and only one is that decent outright winner, two may be losers, two break even and then finally we score. Keep focused, keep positive and be ready to score and you’ll win through…
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