The number one problem I see traders make is not acting in accordance with their intuition.
This means either not seeing intuition as important, or seeing it as important but not understanding what it means. In case your thoughts are too loud, you may hear it but not recognize it, or hear it and recognize it, but still not act on it. Let’s break that down.
I call the automatic thoughts that appear in your head "programming."
These thoughts are not who you are, but automatic negative responses that are in opposition to your intuition. They are triggered by insecurities that come from your conditioning.
Programming is the direct opposite of conscious thinking. The problem is, what you start to believe is you.
As a trader, knowing how difficult this calling is, you may have already uncovered a great deal about yourself.
The beliefs you may have, be they good or bad, need feeding. That is to say, they need to be supported regularly through your perceptions. For example, if you believe you are always clumsy, any time you experience an accident or drop something, you will mentally reinforce "I am clumsy." It is similar to positive reinforcement, such as "I never quit," "I am strong," etc.
Contrary to a popular belief, neither works in your favor long term.
"Well, isn't feeding the 'good dog' better than feeding the 'bad dog'?" you may ask. The problem is that both are damaging.
One reason for this is that all identifications need regular feeding. For example, if you have the notion that says "I am successful," then you need to feed it by comparison with others, those you may consider less successful, or with your past results. Without enough positive reinforcement, you can easily get imbalanced, until the next meal arrives.
The problem is that you need to feed identifications constantly, in this case, either by flattering yourself or by judging others who are ‘less successful." And even if they are fed regularly, the imbalance is imminent.
What imbalance means is multilayered, but one aspect is that you become disconnected from your intuition. For example, by regularly feeding 'I am successful' notion, there is a danger of becoming arrogant, which can lead to bad trades.
Programming comes from crowd programming.
These are the triggers in your genes that can produce certain reactions, thoughts, emotions, or sickness.
This is not to say that what you think is always wrong. It could be right, but that still doesn’t mean you should pay attention to it. If it is right, there is a greater danger ahead since this part comes from putting definitions or limitations on who you are, which is in itself an imbalanced part.
This part holds a certain intelligence in order to continue feeding on your energy. It can change its tactics, which as a goal has you experiencing ups and downs and feeling unstable, similar to the part you identify with.
Spiritual teachers, such as Eckhart Tolle, call for complete disidentification from your thoughts.
The mind, in its balanced state, is meant to be quiet. Since we have a lot of programming coming from our roots or what we have taken along the way, our minds may not be quiet, and this is not the goal. The important thing is not to identify with it.
Contrary to a popular belief, the "goal" of meditation is not to quiet the mind. That is just a result. The goal is to balance your inner states. And this comes from consciousness, being aware of thoughts going through your mind, and all your responses to them, such as emotions.
You may have already heard that emotions can play a big role in trading, and usually in a negative sense. The problem is that if you identify with enough thoughts, the emotions can easily overwhelm you, and cause you to act at the worst time, or freeze when you need to act.
It comes as no surprise that limiting the impact of your thoughts, which limits the impact of emotions, can result in better trading.
Your intuition comes from clarity. You need to have a good inner environment in order to make it work, and enough understanding of the market to get the "right signals."
What to do if you cannot recognize the voice of the unconscious versus the conscious, your intuition? Easy-peasy.
Just don't pay attention to your "inner voice" at all.
As mentioned, your balanced state doesn’t come from the mind, but from a deeper part of you (your guts? ;)). If your mind is naturally quiet, it means that your inner knowing doesn’t come from thoughts at all. You just know. No thoughts.
To your trading success,