When I was a full-time trader, I often found myself ruminating during holidays when the U.S. stock markets were closed. I would constantly replay recent trading mistakes in my head, which greatly undermined my confidence when trading resumed.
The problem was that these negative thoughts were justified because I was fully responsible.
Today, I want to share a simple and effective tip from psychologist Nick Wignall to help break this unproductive habit.
Next time you find yourself in a cycle of rumination, ask yourself:
"Is this thought helpful?"
or
"Is this a useful exercise?"
You’ll quickly realize the answer is no, which surprisingly may end your rumination episode.
I encourage you to try this method; you might be surprised by its effectiveness!
Happy trading!
Psychology plays such a significant role in trading that I'm happy you brought up one important tool and perspective. Psychology is the pivotal key to success, and it is fascinating how trading brings a wide variety of bad habits, unproductive thoughts, inconsistencies, etc., to the surface and eventually forces one to deal with them.
One significant change in my thinking has been shifting the focus (and ruminating!) from results and all sorts of incidences to process. Things became much clearer after I started putting the vast majority of my focus, effort, and other mental input into perfecting the process and making strict rules. Now, it's easy to say if I've made a mistake, thoroughly go through that process, and dig…