The Mindful Investor: How a Calm Mind Can Bring You Inner Peace and Financial Security

Chapter 3. Mindfulness Techniques

As previously mentioned, it's possible for you to gain control of your mind by training it. Training your mind enables you to experience greater calm, have more peace of mind, make better decisions, discover what truly matters to you, and find fulfillment in your life. In this chapter we'll describe some generic Mindfulness techniques that can be applied both to financial planning and to life in general. In later chapters, we'll introduce you to some techniques that can be particularly helpful with the various aspects of financial planning, including developing a strong relationship with your advisor.

The goal is, over time, to begin living mindfully throughout the day. In order to achieve this, you need to start by meditating regularly and developing a daily (or almost daily) practice. This will cause you to experience greater calm and to develop focus or concentration in your life. The spillover benefits from adding formal sitting practice into your daily life will occur naturally. But, in order to leverage the benefits of your formal practice and maximize their potential, you must also employ Mindfulness strategies in action. These are specific strategies that you can use anytime—while walking the dog, driving, playing golf, sitting in a meeting, developing your financial objectives, reading the stock ticker, buying a business, selling a business—you get the picture. Mindfulness is applicable to everything that occurs during your day, whether ...