Trading on Target: How to Cultivate a Winner's State of Mind

GETTING BACK THAT OLD FEELING

Trading becomes a joy for successful traders because of the good feelings created in the beginning: The satisfaction of becoming a trader who had mastered the subject, created the trading rules, and learned to be disciplined. These positive feelings were an essential part of the original pattern. Ironically, the one pattern that most traders eventually force out of their routine is that good feeling. Sometimes, the pattern will change when a trader is in it, just like a physical phenomenon will change when it is observed. Ironically, the only way to retain the pattern of good feelings in your trading is to continue to do the same things that created the pattern originally. In other words, you must build change into the pattern. You must continue to:

• Conduct periodic reviews to improve your trading rules
• Develop and expand your mental and psychological capacities
• Continue to study the markets and perhaps develop new systems

The experience of regaining the good feelings from an old pattern can be compared to riding a bicycle. In order to ride it, you had to learn to balance. You struggled with the process until you finally understood and mastered it. Once you were successful, you were filled with an overwhelming sense of accomplishment and satisfaction. As you pedaled, you were looking at the ground and everything around you with a new sense of appreciation, excitement, and empowerment. Suddenly, you approached the lake and saw it as if for the first ...