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Critical Thinking Skills For Traders | How To Improve The Mental Aspect of Your Trading Strategy Using NLP
By Abby Eagle (2023)
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In this article I am going to show you how to apply your critical thinking skills to the process of trading.
I find it helpful to look at trading in terms of strategies. We have five representational systems – VAKOG but the three which are most relevant are visual, auditory and kinesthetic. And then we have an inner world and an outer world. So we can take in information through our eyes, ears and body – and then we can process that information in the cinema of our mind in pictures, words, conversations and feelings. So we have VAK external and VAK internal. And then we also think using questions, statements and commands.
The tea analogy
So let’s start with the strategy for making a cup of tea. It starts presumably with a sensation of thirst. A thought arises, “I feel like a drink” – and then maybe there is a series of images in mind of what you could drink. You then make a selection from those images which the unconscious mind presented to you – and you choose one, for example a cup of black tea – and say, “I’m going to make a cup of tea”. So in trading that would be analogous to doing your research, checking the charts and making a decision to enter a trade.
So the next strategy is to make the cup of tea. If you chunk up then it may just involve going to the café and buying the tea. If you decide to make your own cup of tea you need a kettle, water, a cup, and a teabag. But if you break it down into details it could actually involve growing the tea or harvesting the tea leaves or buying the tea. And then you need a source of clean water – something to carry or transport the water – and a container in which to boil the water – you need something to heat the water – an electric or gas stove – a wood fire perhaps – and then you need to know when the water has boiled. Then you need to safely pour the boiling water onto the tea in the cup. So now you have made the cup of tea. That strategy is completed
But then there is also a strategy for drinking the tea. Do you immediately drink the hot tea or do you let it cool for a while. How do you test the temperature of the tea? Do you touch the cup with your hands? Do you taste the tea with your lips? Do you drink your tea hot, warm or cold? When do you drink the tea? Do you have a tea drinking ritual? Do you drink it all in one go or do you sip it over a couple of hours? And then at what point do you exit from this strategy knowing that you have finished the cup of tea?
So as you can see there is an enormous amount of detail in making a cup of tea that you probably take for granted.
Trading
Trading is just as detailed. You have to learn the basics of trading – the history of trading – and you need to decide on the type of trading that would suit your personality type – your biorhythm and your lifestyle.
Once you have an idea on the type of trading then you invest in the software and watch training videos, etc – there is an enormous amount of detail. Then you do practice trades and when you feel comfortable then you start making low risk trades.
So then you need to analyse the trading cycle – preserving the learnings, coming to new understandings – and then you take those learnings and you apply those learnings the next time that you trade.
So you keep going backwards and forwards through your trading procedure looking for what you do well and also looking for where you could improve.
Okay so how do you become a more profitable trader?
Let’s start with the trading environment. In order to get into flow for trading you need to build an environment in which you flourish – that is a trading workspace that is totally separate from all distractions in which you can get immersed in the trading experience.
If you have been socialising with friends or dealing with family dramas for a couple of hours before trading then you may not be in the best frame of mind. So you need to find a way to get that stuff out of your head and out of the trading room – so that when you are in the trading room your only thoughts are about trading.
Now let’s look at some typical problem areas
- Do emotions get in the way? For example, fear and /or greed?
- When in the trade do you get overcome by an emotion and forget your checklist?
- Do you sometimes feel anxious and then panic and go against what you previously decided?
- When in the trade rather than trusting your analysis do you focus on the money element?
- As soon as the trade goes into profit do you exit rather than following your plan?
- When the bar drops rather than trusting the analysis do you exit out of fear?
- Do you revenge trade as a way to get yourself back into a good feeling?
- Is there a voice in your head which talks you into making a bad decision – for example, what-if the market does this or what-if it does that?
- Do you get into two minds and argue with yourself?
- Do you review your trade – analyse what you did wrong yet find that you make the same mistake the next time that you trade?
If you would like learn how to master your mind and follow your trading principles then let’s set up a meeting on Skype or Zoom and have a no obligation chat – and if you have not done so then please comment below, and join us over at the Facebook NLP & Hypnotherapy Group.
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