Apply Affirmation Technique to Improve trading

“Any thought put into your mind and nourished regularly, will produce results in your life.” John Kehoe

An affirmation is a statement made in the present about the future as if it had already occurred in the past. Let me say it more simply. An affirmation is a simple statement about what you want to become true in your life. You state it in the present tense as if it were already true. You repeat your hopes and dreams. You declare the opposite of your fears. For example, the fear that you could lose all your money becomes: “I grow my capital through consistently applying my winning methods.”

Be careful to word the affirmation in the present tense. Statements made in the future stay in the future. “Next month I’ll turn my trading around.” stays out there in the future. Now is when you need to turn the trading around.

Affirmations can be repeated to yourself silently or aloud. You can incant them with feeling or whisper them to yourself. You can record them and play them, or write them and read them. A good time to assert them is just as you’re falling asleep or waking up, or any other time of the day. You can say them while you drive or wait in a bank line or as you watch the market or manage a trade.

And here is a little miracle. You don’t have to believe the truth of the affirmation in order for it to have an effect. Of course, it’s better if you imagine it to be true or becoming true.

Sometimes it’s more believable if it’s a process statement. “I am consistently profitable” changes to “I am becoming more consistently profitable.” There are times when the process is more credible than the reality.

You can also turn the statement into a question. “In what ways am I becoming a better trader?” “How am I becoming a more professional trader each year?” The mind accepts the truth of the question and searches for evidence.

We think in language. The words we think fill our minds and crowd out opposing thoughts. A word encompasses an idea. Ideas are stronger than will power. Ideas seduce and return as reality. By reiterating thoughts they become a part of our natural thoughts and become our beliefs and express themselves in our actions.

You want to state your affirmations in a positive form. Negatives produce the opposite of what you want. “Don’t lose money.” enters into the mind in the form of “lose money”. Clearly you don’t want that. Much better to say,”Today, I make money trading.” “Don’t lose money” becomes a worry, and you begin to imagine losing money and you feel bad. Thought mixed with emotion attracts its essence.

Keep your affirmations short. A simple sentence ten words or less will do it:

• “I follow my trading rules.”
• “I take every valid entry.”
• “I stay with my winning trades.”
• “I cut my losses right on time.”
• “I act on time right on time.”
• “I apply my methods to the market.”
• “I want what the market wants.”
• “I can handle anything that comes up.”

You can also use a single word: “Courageous.” “Consistent.” “Steady.” “Professional.” “Winner.” “Confident.” “Clear Minded.” “Detached.” “Patient.” “Effective.” Who are all these words? You are. The “I am” is implied and understood.

Affirmations are used to bring into being what Earl Nightingale calls the strangest secret: We become what we think about. When you affirm, you’re filling your mind with repetitive notions. They seep into your subconscious mind, and manifest themselves in your actions.