AlphaMind podcast #107 A US Navy Seal Commander, A Mindfulness Expert, and Self-Compassion

In the brutal world of trading and markets, we can often turn in on ourselves, and end up becoming our biggest problem. The ability to stay calm, controlled, and above the fray, and to overcome setbacks and remain on process, are crucial factors behind successful trading. 

In this episode of the AlphaMind Podcast we are in conversation with former US Navy Seal Commander Jon MacAskill and Mindfulness Guru Will Schneider, who together present the 'Men Talking Mindfulness' podcast, we explore how people can channel their emotions and feelings and use them to better inform their trading decisions. 

We explore themes, vital to optimum performance, that traders often fail to give meaningful attention to, such as self-care and mental calmness. In particular, we also zoom in on the vital but often underplayed art of developing self-compassion. 

This episode goes in-depth on a subject which is still largely seen as a new-age holistic practice, rather than an activity, which, when time, energy, and deliberate practice are spent on, can empower people to achieve significantly stronger performance, on a sustainable basis, whilst reducing stress, and promoting better personal well-being. 

We also talk beyond mindfulness, on subject and themes connected to better mental well-being, and improved personal performance, and discuss the soft skills of high performance, which are ironically the hardest skills to master.

You can find out more about Jon and Will, and their brilliant podcast at https://mentalkingmindfulness.com/

🎧 Audio

📺 Video 

____________________________________________________________________

 AlphaMind Podcast Sponsoring Partner

The Society of Technical Analysts provides world beating technical analysis education programmes and offer outstanding membership services with regular talks and meetings. Their Home Study Course is based on the Diploma Programme they deliver at the London School of Economics and has been created by many of the leading minds in the field of technical analysis. 

AlphaMind Podcast listeners can obtain a GBP100 (7%) discount on the Society of Technical Analysts world-beating Home Study Course at this link.

Newsletter

Subscribe here

Mindfulness doesn't work... at least for a whole bunch of traders it doesn't, here’s why.

Firstly let me lay out my skills, I've run a mindfulness based practice for 40 years in parallel to being a broker/trader in nasty aggressive markets. But I didn’t follow the norm of going on a course, or reading a self help book, I followed an internal instinct and then committed to change.

I had discovered a self created natural state of enhanced attention that drove high performance.

Quite recently, and almost certainly due to the pandemic throwing up fresh challenges, several of my coaching and mentoring clients, all traders i.e. hedge fund folk, commodity traders, markets CEO’s had the same problem:-

They had been seeking a solution to help manage their mental state and develop their trader edge.
They sought something that calmed their system and gave them clarity and resilience to cope under the stress of trading markets, something that would build mental edge to drive enhanced trader performance.

But they were frustrated, I’d even say stressed, that despite reading a libraries worth of relevant books, listening to mindfulness based Apps and watching hours of YouTube.. none of them found the solution they desperately needed. The techniques they were trying were ineffective. The reality was that through trying to find a solution they had become more stressed. Trading was suffering.

It became clear that the reason many could not find the solution is that “off the shelf” doesn't work. They are well-intentioned, but are devoid or context and personal perspective. The starting point for what is a very self-based approach is “self” and cannot be based upon presumptions and a one size fits all solution.

We all have different stories, we are all unique and we are all more complex than we realise. Even more complex when this is set against the backdrop of Markets. So once I had got under their skin, found their quirks and understood their trading and life journey I very quickly could solve, in market terms, their issues and provide them with an effective path to follow.

For example, their challenges were similar in nature and reflected difficulty in moving on from a market or personal shock, re-living the past was being translated into trader block. Consequently, they were producing and repeating failed trade processes due to “too much going on” mentally and the related under performing alpha, in addition, they also paying very little attention to their core system. Dehydration, poor sleep, loss of social connection, lack of fresh air were common to them all.

In short they were unconsciously self-sabotaging. Trading had taken a back seat, purpose was lost, and it also arose that they had lost the context of time and often were sucked into the market, often stuck in their silo and spat out some 13 hours later. Subsequently, home life was under pressure as relationships with partner and kids got strained and thus trading optimally was just not possible, in fact every facet of their life had become a challenge.

My approach starts with getting them to modify behaviour, starting with ensuring hydration was being maintained as a number 1 hack. After this, it was to use micro-breaks to proactively step back following a market shock and take a short pause. Some tuned into their breath, others tuned into music – even briefly rocking out, others began tuning into the motion of walking or running and associating the breath with doing something physical.

The game-changer was to commit to getting in touch with a natural environment whenever you can.. and when there, just be there and be curious to what you see, what you hear, what you smell — fully immersed in reality. The natural environment creates a lifeboat, a safe haven that you can visit to regain an optimal trader state.

By starting the day connecting to “self” in a natural environment and doing the same at the end of the day will put a boundary around the trading day. And that’s important, your mental state and trader edge will be able to reset itself in a natural state which will help the clarity required for the trade discovery but also the different, calmer mindset required to wind down for the evening and have meaningful time for family and friends.

Your mental state will also “show up” for the trading day ahead if it understands the difference between ‘life’ and ‘work’. It is like having your own opening bell and closing bell for whatever period defines your trading day.

Your effectiveness as a trader today will be heavily determined by how you managed your mental state yesterday.

As you see, none of this involved an App, nor anything that might be considered fluffy, nor did it require attending a typical course that’s more often used for clinical outcomes. It just required commitment in doing something that had no stigma and is readily available to us all – connecting in high definition to the world around us.

Creating a starting point that is focussed on “self” and understanding the relationship we have to the internal and external world that we operate in becomes a very powerful, effective method of building your trader edge.

We wish you luck.

This is just a taste of what is possible. If you are interested in developing this side of your trading, please check out my AlphaMind 'Trading Peak Performance' Programme click here.

You can also view my recent interviews as guest on these two podcasts:
🎧Darren Lee's 'Kick-Off Sessions podcast: Mark Randall – The Emotionally Intelligent Trader, Risk Management & The Fundamentals of Trading
🎧Anthoney Crudele's 'Futures Radio' Podcast: Developing An Alpha Mind – Mark Randall

Also check out our AlphaMind Trader Performance Coaching programme, and other Executive Coaching services.

Mindfulness for Traders and Active Investors

Mindfulness is a hot topic in trading, investment and risk-taking, however few people really understand what it is, how to use it effectively, and how powerful it can be.

What exactly is Mindfulness?
Mindfulness is a westernized secular concept, with deep roots in Buddhist philosophy and practice, which is

gaining increasing acceptance as a powerful tool to help people reduce stress and anxiety and to more fully focus and engage with the immediate task in front of them.

Jon Kabat-Zinn, Professor of Medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, is the person generally accredited to adapting Mindfulness for use in the west. In particular he was influential in developing ‘Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction’ (MBSR), a highly effective tool for helping people with chronic depression, anxiety and stress.

In the past few years, use of mindfulness has expanded beyond the fields of medicine and is now being employed in a wide array of fields to help enhance performance in areas where focus, concentration and resilience are vital. Some of the areas where mindfulness is now practiced include education, the military, business, sport, performance arts, and investment management.

What is Mindfulness practice?
Mindfulness is the continuous practice of being in touch with the present moment. Jon Kabat-Zinn, describes it as follows: “Paying attention in a particular way; On purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally.”

Kabat-Zinn himself was inspired and influenced by the Vietnamese Buddhist monk ‘Thich Nhat Hanh’. Hanh sums up what I believe Mindfulness is aiming to achieve in the following quote:

‘The best way of preparing for the future is to take good care of the present, because we know that if the present is made up of the past, then the future will be made up of the present. All we need to be responsible for is the present moment. Only the present is within our reach. To care for the present is to care for the future.’

Development of a Mindfulness practice, using regular meditational techniques, aims to help a person achieve a relaxed, non-judgmental awareness of their thoughts, feelings and sensations so that they have a direct knowing of what is going on inside and outside them self, in real time. Each and every person can, with the help of guidance, develop a practice which suits their particular lifestyle and challenge.

How does Mindfulness help trading and investment? Practicing "mindfulness" has helped many traders stay focused and make better decisions based on objective data, beliefs and facts. Through mindfulness you become aware that you, your thoughts, your biases, behaviours and beliefs are not one and the same. Mindfulness allows you to step back from the fray and observe yourself and your reactions to be more aware of what is happening within yourself and around you.

One of the most destructive practices one engages in when trading is that of self-judgment. This may involve comparing oneself against ideal levels of performance, against your own very high expectations, against your beliefs in the inflated expectations others have of you, or against various alternative better outcomes. Self-judgment is rarely positive, and no matter how accomplished or happy one is, they may often hold on to negative self-judgments which have the power to undermine one’s confidence and self-belief. Self-evaluation is different to Self-judgment, Self-evaluation is observation of one’s own actions, but where the message is not laced with the poison of self-judgment or self-criticism. Traders with a well-developed mindfulness practice, and a mindful way of being, are more conscious and aware of them self, their actions, and their re-actions to events and news. They are able to gain control of themselves, and can start directing their resources and energies in a productive manner. One can never control the market, but they can have greater control of themselves, of how they see the market, and how they react to the market. This, together with a sound trading and risk management strategy and practice, should enable one to be a more productive and profitable as traders and investors.

Chrysalis Performance Consulting Ltd
To learn more about our work in helping improve Trader and Fund Manager Performance, visit our website www.chrysalis-pc.com or contact us at trading@chrysalis-pc.com

Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/ChrysalisPerfCo