Why does your self image accept all your thoughts as true even when they are not? Because your brain can’t tell the difference between imagination and reality. Your brain reacts automatically to what you think or imagine to be true. Just think of all the times you have had negative thoughts, these negative thoughts can build your self image if you keep thinking them and can prevent you from becoming a successful trader. Your self-image determines how you engage in and perceive every social interaction and experience throughout your life.
Are you a risk taker? Risk averse person? Gambler? A-type personality? Do you feel worthy of wealth? Do you come from a poor background? Are you indecisive? Are you patient? These are all questions you need to be self aware of in order to know yourself and become successful, especially in trading. Self-Image is not a real thing, it’s simply a construct of thoughts you choose to think about in past experiences. Thoughts are subjective and may or may not be true. In the book Psycho-Cybernetics, Maltz draws on being hypnotized as his example. If you’re hypnotized to believe you’re in a snowstorm your body will shiver, good bumps arise, and your teeth chatter. We hypnotize ourselves with our words and our imaginations, furthermore others hypnotize us with their own words.
Your self-image directs everything about your life in the decisions you make and what you’re capable of doing and not doing. Negative thoughts related to trading could be sayings such as “I’m a bad trader”, “I’m always making the wrong move”, “I am only going to take trades I know will play out.” To change your self image and shift these beliefs, you want to not only think the opposite, but take action on the process to become “a trader that’s constantly growing”, “a calculated risk taker”, and “enjoy the process of trading”. Goals are achieved through what Maltz calls the Auto-Success Mechanism, a built-in guidance system used to interpret positive and negative feedback.
In summary, in order to become a successful trader you must develop a self-image that you are a successful trader. A bad trader views themselves as a bad trader because they keep losing and taking actions they know they shouldn’t be. Reflecting on their trades they focus on everything they did wrong and reinforce their self image of being a bad trader. They aren’t tracking results or performing the proper actions they know they should be. A goal can’t be achieved if it doesn’t align with your self-image and can only be achieved with the ability to respond automatically to positive and negative feedback.
One of the first steps to being a successful trader is to measure your actions. This alone will make a drastic difference in your self-image, mindset and results. I've put hours of research and testing into finding the perfect trade journal and Tradersync is hands down the best option to track and level up your trading. If you aren't going to track what matters its not worth tracking at all, so I don't believe in free excel sheets being satisfactory for what you truly need to be analyzing. Sign up for Tradersync and start measuring the right actions by clicking HERE.
You can also learn how to use the software in my free tutorial video by clicking HERE.
