{"id":1878,"date":"2010-02-17T01:30:38","date_gmt":"2010-02-17T05:30:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/club.ino.com:80\/trading\/?p=1878"},"modified":"2010-02-17T10:26:52","modified_gmt":"2010-02-17T14:26:52","slug":"pulling-the-trigger-exercises","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wwwtest.ino.com\/blog\/2010\/02\/pulling-the-trigger-exercises\/","title":{"rendered":"Pulling the Trigger Exercises"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Today I'd like everyone to welcome Larry Levin. Larry is a very well known trader and is often featured on CNBC and other financial television shows, and today he's going to be talking about one of the hardest things we as traders must do - pull the trigger! He's got some excellent advice that can be applied to all levels of traders. Please enjoy the article, comment below, and visit LarrysBook.com<\/a> to learn more about Larry and check out his book.<\/p>\n

=====================================================================<\/p>\n

Sometimes we can\u2019t pull the trigger when we sense an opportunity in the market for one reason; we\u2019re afraid!\u00a0 But we are not afraid of the market, we\u2019re afraid of ourselves.\u00a0 Our fear comes from not trusting in ourselves to act in our own best interest.<\/p>\n

You fear your inability to do what you need to do, when you need to do it, without hesitation.\u00a0 Being afraid causes us to freeze and makes us unable to pull the trigger to execute our trades.\u00a0 This causes missed opportunities, but the result of these missed opportunities is the real problem of not being able to pull the trigger.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

After we miss an opportunity (because we are afraid), we play the scenario in our minds in a very unrealistic way.\u00a0 For example, let\u2019s say we wanted to get long the market.\u00a0 The opportunity comes up for us to get in the market, but our fear prevents us from pulling the trigger, so we do nothing.\u00a0 Then the worst possible thing starts to happen in our minds\u2026<\/p>\n

The market rallies and we start counting the money that we are missing out on because we didn\u2019t pull the trigger.\u00a0 If the market moves our way 5.00 points, we think that we should have had those 5.00 points.\u00a0 We do this whether it is realistic or not.<\/p>\n

This is the failure mechanism hard at work.<\/p>\n

This kind of thinking is the most harmful to our trading.\u00a0 We mentally beat ourselves up for missing the trade and we feel like we lost money that should have been ours had we gotten in on the trade.\u00a0 We get mad.\u00a0 We call ourselves stupid.\u00a0 We play the trade repeatedly in our minds, thinking about the things we did wrong.\u00a0 This is exactly like the visualizing techniques I\u2019ve been talking about.\u00a0 The only difference here is that you are visualizing yourself doing the wrong thing.\u00a0 By continually thinking of yourself as a person who can\u2019t pull the trigger, you are reinforcing that idea in your subconscious.\u00a0 These actions are destructive and only make things worse.<\/p>\n

Therefore, we need an exercise to help us pull the trigger when we see a trading opportunity.\u00a0 We need to get past the fear that is causing us to freeze and not pull the trigger.\u00a0 And we definitely want to avoid visualizing or continually thinking about the mistakes we\u2019ve made and the opportunities we\u2019ve missed.\u00a0 We can\u2019t change the past, only the future.<\/p>\n

Here is a visualization technique I use to overcome fear:<\/p>\n

EXERCISE
\n<\/strong>
\n1) Get in a relaxed state with the relaxation technique \u201ccalm body, calm mind.\u201d<\/p>\n

2) In this exercise, we want to visualize ourselves being able to pull the trigger without hesitation when we see an opportunity or when it\u2019s time to get out of a trade.<\/p>\n

3) Go into the theater of your mind and first play back with detail times when you\u2019ve pulled the trigger as soon as you\u2019ve seen a trading opportunity.\u00a0 Remember to see the details.\u00a0 See yourself watching the charts and seeing the opportunity.\u00a0 You see the green light go off in your head and you don\u2019t hesitate.\u00a0 You place your order.\u00a0 (Can you feel how the mouse feels in your hand?\u00a0 Notice how you feel sitting in your chair watching the screen.)<\/p>\n

4) See the trade going your way.\u00a0 Feel the feelings you have had when you\u2019ve seen an opportunity and jumped on it.\u00a0 Feel how you felt when you did not hesitate and were able to pull the trigger without hesitation.<\/p>\n

5) If you haven\u2019t had trades where you were comfortable pulling the trigger, then try this: Remember a time when you did something you were comfortable with, something that is hard for most others to do.\u00a0 For instance, maybe you are a good negotiator and you\u2019re not afraid to ask for a lower price when others wouldn\u2019t be confident doing so.\u00a0 Remember that time vividly and feel those confident feelings.\u00a0 Or maybe you are a person who is good at fixing things and wouldn\u2019t hesitate tackling a big fix-it job.\u00a0 You would obviously feel confident that you could get the job done correctly.\u00a0 Then switch the scene in your mind\u2019s eye back to the trading situation and see yourself pulling the trigger at the right time.\u00a0 It\u2019s O.K. to make up the situation, as long as you have the confident feeling first and are seeing the pictures in your mind vividly and with detail.<\/p>\n

6) See yourself liquidating this trade when you feel the time is right.\u00a0 See the details clearly.\u00a0 See yourself clearly getting out of the trade.\u00a0 See yourself hitting the correct keys to liquidate the trade.\u00a0 Feel the confident feelings you get from having a successful trade.<\/p>\n

7) Again, it\u2019s important that you do these exercises on a daily basis.\u00a0 They will not work after just one day.\u00a0 You didn\u2019t become afraid to pull the trigger in just one day, so you can\u2019t expect to fix that problem in just one day either.\u00a0 Also, these exercises work better if you do them at the same time each day.<\/p>\n

8) This mental practice will reprogram your self-image.\u00a0 After several weeks of practice, if you feel the confident feelings, your inability to pull the trigger will be a thing of the past.<\/p>\n

Important Note: <\/strong>
\nAttempting to do these exercises right after a losing trade or a bad day will not work.\u00a0 It\u2019s very unlikely you\u2019ll be able to get relaxed enough for the visualization process to work if you are upset or mad at yourself.\u00a0 I would suggest only doing these exercises when you are in a relaxed state.\u00a0 Trying to do them when you are aggravated will not get you anywhere and will simply turn you off from continuing to do them in the future.\u00a0 The term \u201ctime heals all wounds\u201d is very true here.\u00a0 If you give yourself some time to calm down (a day, an hour, whatever), you will be in a much better position to relax and then get some benefit from these exercises.<\/p>\n

Relaxation Technique: Calm Body, Calm Mind <\/strong><\/p>\n

It is hugely beneficial to be physically and mentally relaxed before doing the visualization exercises.\u00a0 Here is a simple technique to use in the theater of your mind to bring on relaxation.<\/p>\n

1) Sit in a comfortable chair or lie on a bed.\u00a0 There should be no other distractions.\u00a0 Turn off the TV, radio, and the lights.\u00a0 Go into the comfortable theater of your mind.\u00a0 See yourself getting ready to watch a movie about yourself.<\/p>\n

2) Lie down and imagine your body\u2019s a series of rubber balloons.\u00a0 There are two valves in your feet.\u00a0 They open and air escapes from your legs.\u00a0 Your legs collapse until they are empty and lie flat against the bed.\u00a0 A valve now opens in your chest and your whole body begins to collapse limply against the bed.\u00a0 Continue this exercise with the arms, the neck, and the head.\u00a0 You don\u2019t have to do this in bed.\u00a0 If you\u2019re in the office, try to fix a picture of yourself in your mind\u2019s eye of yourself lying in bed doing the exercise.\u00a0 You will actually feel the relief from being relaxed.\u00a0 Physical relaxation leads to mental relaxation.\u00a0 When practiced daily, it gives us that relaxed attitude that allows us to better control our actions.<\/p>\n

3) Again, remember to pay attention to details.\u00a0 What is your theater like?\u00a0 How does the seat feel?\u00a0 Is the screen big or small?\u00a0 Are you sitting in the middle row or in an he aisle seat?\u00a0 Are there armrests on the chair?\u00a0 How do they feel under your arms?\u00a0 The details are very important.<\/p>\n

Each time you practice this technique, when your body and mind are feeling completely relaxed, be sure to say to yourself mentally, \u201cCalm body, calm mind.\u201d\u00a0 This deepens the programming of your servomechanism.\u00a0 As you practice this technique, you will find the time that it takes you to become relaxed grows shorter and shorter.\u00a0 Eventually, you will be able to relax totally at any time, and in any situation, simply by saying to yourself mentally, \u201cCalm body, calm mind.\u201d<\/p>\n

All my best,
\nLarry Levin
\nLarrysBook.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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