Trading Success - Its about having the 'appropriate mindset'.

This week's quote for the week is a quote 'The possession of anything begins in the mind' is a quote by Bruce Lee: Most people know Bruce Lee as the godfather of Martial Arts and Kung Fu, but in Lee's all too short life on our planet (33 years) he was also heavily involved in philosophy. Lee had studied philosophy extensively and though his own particular take on philosophy often mirrored his fighting beliefs, he was quick to claim that his martial arts were solely a metaphor for his teachings. Lee believed that any knowledge ultimately led to self-knowledge, and said that his chosen method of self-expression was martial arts.

His quote interests me in that I firmly believe that the path to successful trading begins in getting the mind right and developing your 'self'. - Something I like to think of as 'appropriate mindset' . - Achieve that and success should follow, however possess the wrong or inappropriate mindset, and no matter how much you call the market right, you will 'not' make money:- To me everything else is process; strategy, money management, knowledge which equate to the 3 pillars of trading. Don't get me wrong, they are all essential elements in the trading process, elements which have to be learned well and applied effectively to be successful:

• Strategy: A plan of action or policy designed to achieve 'positive expectancy' in your trading.
• Money Management:The management of your trading capital, finances, position sizing, and risk in order to enable you to achieve your strategic aims.
• Knowledge: The accumulation and application of everything you have learned and experienced to help you achieve your strategic aims. (This includes knowledge of anything relevant, markets, products, economics, macro, micro, fundamentals, technical, psychology and behaviour, politics, etc.)

But in my opinion 'mindset' is a separate thing, it pervades, supports and underlies all of the above and effective application of the 3 pillars of trading comes from possession of the appropriate mindset.

'Appropriate Mindset' is not something which can just be learned or picked-up, it is something that for most people needs to be developed and worked on. There are a lucky few who may have developed early in their life or were born with elements of the 'appropriate mindset' and thus came to trading partly with that appropriate mindset already, for many others however it is something to be nurtured, developed and evolved. Neither is 'appropriate mindset' a constant, mindset is ever-changing, shaped by our experiences and environment, moulded by our fears and desires, and pressured by our relationships and interactions, though once you have it, it is easier to retain.

Developing 'appropriate mindset' is in my opinion the endurance training of trading. All performance experts train; sportsman, athletes, gymnasts, dancers, musicians, actors. - They all suffer for their art. - Developing mindset is the training element of trading. There are no holy grails in trading as there are no holy grails in any performance activities. - Hardwork, persistence, pushing the boundaries, practice. These are the hallmarks of great performers.

If you find yourself stuck from start of a long day to the end of a long day, with your nose to the screen, with virtually no break and with little human interaction, then there is every chance you are seriously undermining your 'self' and your 'mind'. - Improving one's mental health is one of the first steps one can take towards improving mindset.  My thanks to Connie Smith of onlinepsychologydegree.net for forwarding me this article “8 Ways You Can Improve Your Mental Health Today” I hope you find it useful.

I will return to this theme over the coming weeks and months.

Warm regards to all readers.

Steve



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