My Yoga Instructor and I… Caught on Camera
I’m about to show you a very cool picture.
You’re going to think this has nothing to do with investment, but trust me… it does.
But before I show it to you, a little background…
In my youth, whenever I played baseball I felt an intense sense of clarity and overdoses of adrenaline—the “zone” as is often called.
Catching a double-header in Washington D.C. in full equipment (recall what a catcher wears) under 95 degree heat and humidity? That would do it.
Hitting a homerun where you could barely feel the ball off the bat as it went flying over the fence 400 feet away? Yes, that too.
As I got older, I had to quit baseball.
As they say in the film Moneyball, everyone is told they can no longer play the kid’s game. But it happens at different times for everyone.
So after baseball I thought I would never feel that “zone” experience again.
But back in 2012 I did. It reappeared.
I was living in San Diego at the time. And my neck was always sore.
That’s when my personal trainer suggested I should try yoga.
I’ve been hooked since then. You can see me with one of my yoga instructors below.
But how is this related to making money?
The Zen Way of Making Money
Yoga is not only a great workout, but it makes you feel kind of drunk after practice (with no alcohol!).
It makes you high—like the baseball homerun feeling.
Check out this picture… that’s me and my Vietnamese instructor.
How is this related to you and making money?
Let’s face it. We’re all basket cases.
If you don’t know how to handle your emotions you’ll have a lot of problems… not only in the markets, but in life.
See, yoga is not just about the poses or the stretching. It’s also about the meditation. It’s about being in the moment of now, the flow.
That’s one way yoga helps reduce stress, lower blood pressure and lower your heart rate.
If you think about it, all anxiety comes when you’re living in the past or the future…
When you’re thinking about “I should have done this or that”…
Or when you’re thinking about “What if this happens tomorrow?”
That’s called “worrying.” And it will wreck you… in life and in the markets.
Thoughts like “damn, I should have bought that stock” or “hey, this happened in the past, so it will happen again” will not help you make money.
That’s living in the past.
Neither will thoughts like “I’m sure this and that will happen in the future, so I’m going to buy xyz stock.”
That’s living in the future.
What makes you money then?
The moment of right now.
The past is gone and the future is unknowable, but we have right now.
That does not mean we cannot consider our past experiences or mistakes as useful references. Nor does that mean we cannot prepare and plan for the future.
It does mean that making decisions based upon what is actually happening in the moment of right now is how great trend following traders organize their lives and produce their fortunes.
My Conversation with a Mind Coach
Most people ignore the psychological aspects of trading. But that’s a mistake.
Our mind is so important for investing that I recently interviewed a hypnotist on my podcast.
Catherine Stott is the author of “Hypnotrading: A practical guide to using hypnosis and NLP to improve your trading performance.”
Catherine believes that hypnotherapy and neuro-linguistic programing can help traders defeat inner challenges and become more successful.
On this podcast, you’ll learn…
- How to reduce pain… by simply using the power of your mind
- Why negative self-talk can lead to big trading losses
- Should you have a trading mentor? If so, how do you choose the right one?
- Do you suffer from “fear of success?” Many people do. Here’s how to treat it.
Click here to listen to my conversation with Catherine Stott.
Please send me your comments to coveluncensored@agorafinancial.com. I’d love to hear your thoughts. Please tell me exactly what you think. Don’t sugar coat it!
Regards,
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