Hi
In my last note I spoke about the most successful sports trader I ever met, and if you missed it you can catch up with me on Monday Morning Countdown: Week 23 [Your Happiness Goal Needs Practice!]. I’ve had the privilege of interviewing him personally, and one of the questions I asked him was how he’d mentally dealt with some of the really scary moments during the trades he did.
To summarize what he told me:
On a daily basis, he rehearsed how he’d behave during the trade until it became second nature, like a runner who practices running a race in his head or an Olympian who uses imagery as mental training. Golf legend Jack Nicklaus said, ‘Form a positive picture in your mind of how the ball must behave to drop into the hole, then stick to your plan as you set up to and stroke the ball’. What these athletes know is that you need to train your mind as much as you train your body.
In the early days this sports trader certainly had Lady Luck on his side and was extremely grateful for those moments. But dealing with the aftermath of a trade was even more interesting, he told me. He said that he was in the habit of almost scaring himself by thinking how much money he could have lost. He almost felt sick for a long time after a trade. At the heart of the matter was a doubt in his mind that his dream of financial freedom was just a pipe dream. These doubts and fears left him feeling sick, exhausted, and often lying on the sofa paralysed.
Then one day, in a moment of inspiration, he decided ‘to dwell on what went well during the trade’. For anything that did not go well, he ‘replayed in his mind the perfect outcome’ where he saw himself executing the trade perfectly. In fact, he got into the habit of playing this picture in his head on a daily basis.
For him, this is what his mental rehearsal looked like:
He shut his eyes and saw himself sitting calmly at his desk with his orange juice beside him. He imagined looking at the Apple Mac screen placing a sports trade for 10% of his bank and executing his trade at a profit or breaking even on it. He felt relaxed and happy. He heard himself saying, ‘I’ve really got this!’ He even imagined the lifestyle it would give him—the car, the house, and the financial ability to take all his friends and family on a trip to Las Vegas to celebrate a big birthday.
The key thing he told me was that his habitual way of thinking and reacting to the outcome of a trade changed dramatically. Whereas he used to have thoughts that frightened and stressed him out, he now feels relaxed, calm, and successful.
Here’s why I’m telling you about his strategy:
If you’re prone to slipping into negative thought patterns or even if you tend to run those negative ‘what if’ scenarios through your head that don’t serve you, then follow the example of this successful person and learn to master your thinking.
This won’t happen overnight, but with consistent practice you will see that your thinking will shift to being far more constructive, supporting you in your journey towards your goals.
I hope this helps.
Neera Menon
Goal Achievement Coach
PS. Need any help with this—get in touch and let’s talk.
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