Bad Assed Trader: When people think of traders it isn't usually a spiritual person that springs to mind. But the more one learns about trading and successful traders the more one realises that the spiritual side of trading is key to lasting success.
As part of my personal development - for trading and because I want to develop and grow - I've been learning more about spirituality, what it means to be "awakened" and how these qualities are not only applicable, but vital for traders.
It was Emmanuel, my incredible trading coach, who first introduced the concept to me that traders can be, and often are, spiritually, psychologically and philosophically aware. He happened to mention that he was reading "The Road Less Travelled" by M Scott Peck, a book I read 30 years ago and loved. Once we found we had a shared interest in this type of subject we often discussed books in coaching sessions. Emmanuel told me about "The Power of Now" by Eckhart Tolle and showed me on YouTube the videos of Oprah Winfrey interviewing Eckhart Tolle. These books and videos contain powerful insights and incredible lessons and at the moment I can't get enough of them.
I also recently came across this amazing video on YouTube by Louise L Hay called You Can Heal Your Life which beautifully demonstrates so much of what is being promoted by spiritual teachers like Tolle. Don't be put off by the title - I didn't feel that my life needed healing but the principles are applicable to us all.
In my research on spirituality in relation to trading I discovered this website, Joe Ross Trading Educators, which I found fascinating. I don't personally subscribe to any religion but I'm very interested in deepening understanding of values and spiritual awareness so although the Biblical references on that website didn't resonate for me the lessons it promoted certainly did.
What I took away was that to be a successful trader one needs to embody many spiritual traits. For example:
To trade successfully we need to be able to read the language of the charts clearly - to receive that information clearly. When one is fearful of anything one is not open to receiving information objectively (let alone acting on it!) - fear gets in the way, it distorts and limits our ability to receive and understand.
Therefore to be most receptive to information from the market we must feel good about the market. That good feeling needs to include feelings of acceptance, appreciation and respect. To many people the word "love" conveys appreciation and respect. We know that when we love someone we accept them, we appreciate and respect them and these are all spiritual qualities. I've heard many experienced traders talking about need to accept the market the way it is and to respect it - resisting the way it is simply leads one into trouble when trading.
The passion that traders have for trading includes appreciating the markets, accepting their unpredictability and the fact that they cannot be controlled and being OK about that at a deep level. I believe this takes some significant spiritual growth to achieve.
All traders lose trades but to be successful traders have to be able to pick themselves up, dust themselves off and continue without these losses affecting their self-esteem and sense of self. Non traders may see this level of resilience as arrogance but arrogance and pride tend to lead traders into self destruction as, like fear, they blind us to the market information and distort our perception (we believe we've become all powerful and everything we touch turns to gold and this optimism skews our analysis).
This resilience is not arrogance in successful traders - it is more about being sufficiently self aware as to realise one's self worth is not changed in any way by market behaviour. As new traders we all go through countless losses which reduce our trading account and make us feel not only lacking in confidence but, basically, crap. Having the tenacity to pull oneself through this, the insight to see when it is happening and the wisdom to know what to do as a result are all hallmarks of spirituality.
Spiritual qualities include self discipline, perseverance, humility and yet a deep knowing of self worth due to the belief of being connected to or part of something greater than oneself. The overlap with trading skills is clear.
Spirituality is also often described as being meek and temperate. In traders the need to be temperate, or consistent, is fundamental.
To me, being meek as a trader is about not getting angry about trades that go wrong, it's about accepting the market is what it is and that you can only surf it for a little while to make your money. It's about letting go of trades when the time is right to do so - not outstaying your welcome when the trade has gone the wrong way (by moving the stop loss further away for example) and not by being so aggressive in the chase for profit that we are unrealistic and end up losing that profit.
Meek sounds like the opposite to bold but I don't believe it is when it comes to spirituality or trading. Having the courage of your convictions and beliefs is vital for finding spiritual awareness and for successful trading. Being receptive to new and different information that challenges your previous perceptions or assumptions is about being bold and confident enough to learn and think differently. But this boldness is not born of greed. Greedy traders end up losing through their greed - all experienced traders are clear on that one. They take daft risks and lose their perspective. The boldness is more about having faith in your beliefs about your strategy, your edge and the markets - having faith in your knowledge.
For new traders that is one of the hardest things to gain. And it is really only achieved through that perseverance, consistency and the ability to retain your sense of self worth whilst you undertake the journey to greater experience and to enhanced skills.
As part of my personal development - for trading and because I want to develop and grow - I've been learning more about spirituality, what it means to be "awakened" and how these qualities are not only applicable, but vital for traders.
It was Emmanuel, my incredible trading coach, who first introduced the concept to me that traders can be, and often are, spiritually, psychologically and philosophically aware. He happened to mention that he was reading "The Road Less Travelled" by M Scott Peck, a book I read 30 years ago and loved. Once we found we had a shared interest in this type of subject we often discussed books in coaching sessions. Emmanuel told me about "The Power of Now" by Eckhart Tolle and showed me on YouTube the videos of Oprah Winfrey interviewing Eckhart Tolle. These books and videos contain powerful insights and incredible lessons and at the moment I can't get enough of them.
I also recently came across this amazing video on YouTube by Louise L Hay called You Can Heal Your Life which beautifully demonstrates so much of what is being promoted by spiritual teachers like Tolle. Don't be put off by the title - I didn't feel that my life needed healing but the principles are applicable to us all.
In my research on spirituality in relation to trading I discovered this website, Joe Ross Trading Educators, which I found fascinating. I don't personally subscribe to any religion but I'm very interested in deepening understanding of values and spiritual awareness so although the Biblical references on that website didn't resonate for me the lessons it promoted certainly did.
What I took away was that to be a successful trader one needs to embody many spiritual traits. For example:
To trade successfully we need to be able to read the language of the charts clearly - to receive that information clearly. When one is fearful of anything one is not open to receiving information objectively (let alone acting on it!) - fear gets in the way, it distorts and limits our ability to receive and understand.
Therefore to be most receptive to information from the market we must feel good about the market. That good feeling needs to include feelings of acceptance, appreciation and respect. To many people the word "love" conveys appreciation and respect. We know that when we love someone we accept them, we appreciate and respect them and these are all spiritual qualities. I've heard many experienced traders talking about need to accept the market the way it is and to respect it - resisting the way it is simply leads one into trouble when trading.
The passion that traders have for trading includes appreciating the markets, accepting their unpredictability and the fact that they cannot be controlled and being OK about that at a deep level. I believe this takes some significant spiritual growth to achieve.
All traders lose trades but to be successful traders have to be able to pick themselves up, dust themselves off and continue without these losses affecting their self-esteem and sense of self. Non traders may see this level of resilience as arrogance but arrogance and pride tend to lead traders into self destruction as, like fear, they blind us to the market information and distort our perception (we believe we've become all powerful and everything we touch turns to gold and this optimism skews our analysis).
This resilience is not arrogance in successful traders - it is more about being sufficiently self aware as to realise one's self worth is not changed in any way by market behaviour. As new traders we all go through countless losses which reduce our trading account and make us feel not only lacking in confidence but, basically, crap. Having the tenacity to pull oneself through this, the insight to see when it is happening and the wisdom to know what to do as a result are all hallmarks of spirituality.
Spiritual qualities include self discipline, perseverance, humility and yet a deep knowing of self worth due to the belief of being connected to or part of something greater than oneself. The overlap with trading skills is clear.
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| Spiritual Qualities: Applicable even to Forex Trading |
To me, being meek as a trader is about not getting angry about trades that go wrong, it's about accepting the market is what it is and that you can only surf it for a little while to make your money. It's about letting go of trades when the time is right to do so - not outstaying your welcome when the trade has gone the wrong way (by moving the stop loss further away for example) and not by being so aggressive in the chase for profit that we are unrealistic and end up losing that profit.
Meek sounds like the opposite to bold but I don't believe it is when it comes to spirituality or trading. Having the courage of your convictions and beliefs is vital for finding spiritual awareness and for successful trading. Being receptive to new and different information that challenges your previous perceptions or assumptions is about being bold and confident enough to learn and think differently. But this boldness is not born of greed. Greedy traders end up losing through their greed - all experienced traders are clear on that one. They take daft risks and lose their perspective. The boldness is more about having faith in your beliefs about your strategy, your edge and the markets - having faith in your knowledge.
For new traders that is one of the hardest things to gain. And it is really only achieved through that perseverance, consistency and the ability to retain your sense of self worth whilst you undertake the journey to greater experience and to enhanced skills.
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