Believe it or not, it's true what they say … visualizing your
future the way you want it, is much more likely to make that future
a reality. I'm a “doubter” by nature and this notion of visualizing
didn't really make much sense to me when I heard about it the first
hundred times. I mean, come on! Sit in a quiet place and wish
and hope and pray and all your dreams will come true? I think
not. That's what my mathematician brain told me (University
of Cincinnati, 1973, BA Mathematics).
Then I met a subconscious trainer (whom I later married), who
sat me down and stated, “Thoughts are things.” OK, what kind
of things? I've seen Kreskin and other guys bending spoons
with their thoughts… it that what she means? Rather than give
you the entire exchange of words (I don't know that I remember
all of them, as I was falling in love while I was listening), I'll
give you the capsule.
According to her, there is this stream of consciousness somewhere
up there that if you plug into, and by directing your thoughts, you can
harness this consciousness somehow to get what you want (as long
as what you want is positive… you can't wish someone a losing
trade!). This combined with the notion that time, as we know it,
is not linear, we can affect the future from the present through
this universal consciousness.
That's all I'll say about that. Excuse me while I hug a tree. I'm back.
I don't know that I understand all of this, let alone believe it, but
I'll tell you one thing I DO KNOW… If you get your brain into
an alpha brain wave state and you tell yourself (of have someone else
suggest to you) what you'd like to happen in the future, say, the picture
of you as a successful trader… you will head in the direction of that
picture you've created in your head. At least that's what happened
to me, and just about every successful trader I know.
There are different ways to visualize. During a quiet time (I know you
can't imagine any quiet time.. so start while seated in the bathroom),
just see yourself living the Life of Riley (am I showing my age) and
having people around you recognize you as that successful trader that
everybody is talking about. You can move up the effectiveness ladder
(get off the pot?) as you get used to the notion of visualization and get
more and more affective with your thinking, but the idea is to get
started.
Once you start creating pictures of the money-bulging-pocketed-
successful-trader-you, you will actually become less likely to allow
your emotions to lead you to trading mistakes… because “doing the
wrong thing”, like pulling your stops when the market comes close,
or not taking your profit when your system tells you to, becomes
inconsistent with your picture of who you are. Eventually, if you
keep up your visualizations, you become that picture.
Now THAT makes sense!
My best,
Norman Hallett