Mental Game Stories
& Examples
Submitted by readers of The Mental Game of Trading
and The Mental Game of Poker
Preface
Earlier this year I asked readers of my books to share their own Mental
Game stories and examples as a way to continue to learn from each other.
Thank you to everyone who submitted! While I couldn’t include every
submission, I’ve compiled a selection of examples and stories for your
use. I have changed the names of each person represented to protect their
privacy.
On the whole I think these are solid examples of how to successfully use
the tools in my system. If I was working with these individuals in a
coaching capacity there are probably some tweaks and advice I would
give, but the point is most of you are working on these tools independently
and these stories and examples will give you a window into how others
are successfully using the tools to help themselves.
Remember, while reading my books and looking at examples like these are
an important part of your learning, they are no replacement for using the
tools yourself. If you want to make progress, you must do the work.
Complete the Maps and Mental Hand Histories. Create Injecting Logic
statements and use them again and again in key moments to correct your
emotional reactions. Use your Strategic Reminders again and again, as
well. And when you make progress, take a moment to acknowledge and
feel good about it. Then refocus and keep moving your Inchworm forward
step by step.
All the best,
Jared
May 5, 2022
Table of Content
Jonathan
• Background
• Pre-market Routine
• Mental Hand History
• A-to-C Game Analysis
4
William
• Goals
• Mental Hand History
• Anger Profile
• A-to-C Game Analysis
9
Peter
• Fear Exercise
• A-C Indicators
• Mental Hand History
• A-to-C Game Analysis
12
Kate
• Background
• Mental Hand History
14
Matt
• Background
• Goals
• Mental Hand History
• Perspective
15
Jack
• Background
20
Jonathan
How I Learned to Correct A Problem
Your (Jared Tendler’s) mental hand history helped me immensely with
correcting my internal emotional problems. I developed a mental hand
history to find the root of my problem from each emotion that I am feeling.
I noticed that there are LEVELS to our emotions and some new emotions
can pop up depending on the circumstances. The mental hand history
helps you to really understand why that emotion is happening to you and
why it makes sense you have it so that I can be more mindful the next
time it pops up.
Where I Ran Into Trouble
I ran into trouble when multiple emotions were mixing with one another.
For example: Greed and Overconfidence can pop up together when you
are in a hot streak and that emotional build up is just too much for
someone not mindful enough of their emotions.
How I Made Improvements
Just the discipline to journal my emotions every day before and after the
trading session. Sometimes if I feel some emotion before I do my premarket analysis, I do a run-through of my real-time strategy to dump out
that emotion. The journaling I also do at the end of the trading session
helps me understand what emotions pop up during the day which will help
me address a recurring emotional problem or discover a new one that I
haven't run through in my mental hand history.
Jonathan always starts his day with a ‘Pre-market Routine’. This is him
journaling his emotions to prepare him for the trading day ahead.
Any signs of Greed?
• 1st Signs: The THOUGHT of wanting to make money TODAY or RIGHT
NOW regardless of market conditions.
• Common Quotes: “Today looks like a good day! Market looks good and
today will be a big win!”
• Corrective Actions: I must learn to understand the market and my
trading plan that not everyday is a trading day. And if it is a trading day,
there is still no assurance that you will win. Give more importance right
now to your Preparation, Execution, Following of Trading Plan, and
Adaptability.
• Injecting Logic to Confirm Correct Actions: My profitable strategy has
already been proven to myself that it is profitable. All you need to do is
to show up when the market gives you the opportunities, and stand in
the sidelines if it does not. Don’t let your excessive ambition to be a
great trader ruin your ability to trust the process now in the short-term.
Any signs of Anger?
• 1st Signs: Looking back on how the market hasn’t given me a trade yet
so expecting that today there is.
• Common Quotes: “The market hasn’t given me a trade yet this week. I
think today is the day because of price action and today is Wednesday
so my winning day”.
•
•
Corrective Actions: My strategy will incur losses even if everything
seems perfect on your analysis and execution. Your job is to use proper
risk management, and give more importance to Preparation, Execution,
Following of Trading Plan, and Adaptability. ONLY to market conditions
that fits your trading plan.
Injecting Logic to Confirm Correct Actions: Focus on what you can
control. Giving importance to your Preparation, Execution, Following of
Trading Plan, and Adaptability. You cannot control the market, so losses,
or even break evens are unavoidable. But it can happen a lot less by
following your plan.
Any signs of FEAR?
• 1st Signs: Looking at the market and overthinking. Not understanding it
fully and trying to prove “fake certainty” as I ignore steps of my trading
plan. No natural feeling of calm confidence.
• Common Quotes: “It looks like a good trade but it doesn’t follow ALL the
steps of my trading plan”.
• Corrective Actions: The market is uncertain EVERYDAY. No one knows
where the market will go. The only thing you can control is your actions
and decision making. Give more importance to your Preparation,
Execution, Following of Trading Plan, and Adaptability so you can read
the market for what it is correctly and logically.
• Injecting Logic to Confirm Correct Actions: If the trade opportunity
follows your trading plan on ALL STEPS, then all you have to do is
execute! YOU ARE CERTAIN! FEAR is the presence of uncertainty.
Uncertainty on any part of the trade opportunity = no trade.
Any signs of Lack of Confidence?
• 1st Signs: Continuously thinking about P&L, worrying about your future
as a trader, discouraged that you are not making progress, and
wondering if the strategy still works in times of no trade days.
• Common Quotes: “This sucks! I am already down to start the month!
Will I end up positive by the end of this month?”
• Corrective Actions: Worrying and thinking about your P&L or your future
as a trader will do you no good. You are looking too much in the long
term, and not focusing on the SHORT-TERM of things you can control.
Give more importance to your Preparation, Execution, Following of
Trading Plan, and Adaptability.
• Injecting Logic to Confirm Correct Actions: You’ve backtested your
trading plan over 300 times. Why waste time, energy and money on
mediocre trades when you know good trades are just around the corner.
Focus on the now, and the rest will follow.
Any signs of Overconfidence?
• 1st Signs: Thinking too fast, skipping steps of preparation, focused on
the future, thinking you can’t lose, having an expectation on the market.
• Common Quotes: “I think the market will reach my TP point because I
just feel like it’s a good trade. I am excited to trade!”.
• Corrective Actions: No one knows where the market will go. Put your
head down, control your ego, and follow your trading plan. Give more
importance to your Preparation, Execution, Following of Trading Plan,
and Adaptability. You cannot control the market, the future or your
results. Focus on PRESENT ACTIONS!
•
Injecting Logic to Confirm Correct Actions: You have backtested your
trading plan 300 times to be proven that is profitable. There is no need
to be creative and try other things. New things are learned during
mistakes on your A-game. Focus on giving importance to your
Preparation, Execution, Following of Trading Plan, and Adaptability to
get the results you want in the LONG TERM.
WE WANT TO BE IN A STABLE CONFIDENCE
The mind is calm. The mind is focused on the present. The mind knows if
the market is following ALL STEPS of your trading plan. The mind is
AWARE of emotion, just not letting it get accumulated The mind is able to
adjust to what is happening in front of it.
Any signs of Lack of Discipline?
• 1st Signs: Eagerly waiting to look at the chart even before entering a
trade (no trade opportunity, price alert, consolidating market > chasing
the market).
• Common Quotes: “I need to check the market now because if I don’t, I
don’t know how I will adjust with it”.
• Corrective Actions: The market is actually very slow. Whatever it does
“NOT IN YOUR PRE-DETERMINED ZONES” does not affect you because
it is still so far for you to be concerned. If it is not in your zone, then it is
not following your trading plan! Focus on the process not the outcome!
• Injecting Logic to Confirm Correct Actions: The market can do whatever
it wants to do, and no one knows where it will go. Your job is to let the
market come to you. Meaning, only give it concern when it is following
your trading plan on ALL STEPS.
OPTIMAL DISCIPLINE LEVEL
Don’t give a shit about what the market is doing. I have done my premarket analysis, set my alert limits, and am just waiting for the market to
get to my pre-determined zones.
OPTIMAL TECHNICAL LEVEL
Taking action only on my pre-determined spots. When the alert is hit, I
already know what I am looking for. Being fluid with the market and not
letting it be a FOMO type of feeling. If perfect analysis, but not perfect
execution, it’s okay.
Mental Hand History - Jonathan
Perfectionism (Instability in Confidence)
Focus on perfect decision making and perfect execution because in the
market, that's the only thing that can be expected or assured. Everything
else like how the markets move or results can't be controlled because of
variance
Unbeatable Mindset After A Win (Overconfidence)
The problem is that you treat winning a trade like a lottery. You let the
excitement of winning a trade or ending up positive be the measure of
your success as a trader. You become complacent and think you can
suddenly dictate things out of thin air now.
1. Describe the problem in detail
1. Describe the problem in detail
When I have done my pre-market preparation, I have an EXPECTATION that whatever I trade will go
my way. It is as if I have already predicted the outcome, and I do not see myself being wrong when I
am in this.. of A-Game. Because of this, it creates a fear of losing because I can't seem to fathom
losing because I am already in a perfect state, in a perfect trade. I also expect to capitalize on ALL
of the trade just because I am in my A-game.
Every time I win, it is always followed back by loses that make back the win. I can never seem to
have a good win streak because I keep getting emotionally skewed after a win that I cannot think
logically anymore.
2. Explain why it makes logical sense that you have this problem, or why you think, feel, or react
that way
It makes sense I have this problem because I am very dedicated to my pre-market analysis that I
NEED it to trade well. Because of this need, I suddenly have an inflated sense of EXPECTATION that
the next trade being in this A-Game state from my pre-game preparation will ASSURE me a win on
the next trade.
3. Explain why the logic in Step 2 is flawed.
With variance in the market, nothing is sure. No one even knows if the market will go up or down
because of variance.
4. Come up with a correction to that flawed logic
Expectations cannot arise in the market. With variance being present, no one can predict the future.
You just have to deal with the hands you are dealt with.
5. Explain why that correction is correct
No one can control the market or your results regardless of what you do. Nothing can be expected
or assured in the mark.. The only thing you can expect or assure is perfect decision-making and
perfect execution of your trading plan. You can attain this by focusing on the present, the process,
your preparation, your analysis,your following of trading plan, and your adaptability.
2. Explain why it makes logical sense that you have this problem, or why you think, feel, or react
that way
I think because I am not used to winning but more to losing that this feeling is foreign to me. Like I
haven't learned how to "win" properly and I like to delve in my own greatness that I can create
money out of thin attend with juke click of a button.
3. Explain why the logic in Step 2 is flawed.
Feeling the rush &winning a trade that you do not have ownership of the value amount of does not
make sense. Winning in a sense is not a win until you take out the profits and tum it into a
withdrawal.
4. Come up with a correction to that flawed logic
Trading wins are a reminder that you are doing a great job fallowing your trading plan, controlling
your emotions, and continuing your mental game progression. But it is by no means a measured
your greatness of being a skilled profitable trader.
5. Explain why that correction is correct
A professional profitable trader is being able to consistently withdraw profits from the market. Wins
inside the trading account are not wins, but just assurances that you are headed the right way. Don't
be excited that you are doing well, be proud. Keep your head down, continue what you are doing.
A-to-C Game Analysis - Jonathan
William
Goals and Plan Worksheet
Mental Hand History
1. Describe the problem in detail
Every time I have a red day, big or small, I’m moving backwards and losing time.
Moving backward means that I’m failing to live up to my goal of be good/recognized as a good
trader.
2. Explain why it makes logical sense that you have this problem, or why you think, feel, or react
that way
With all this effort, I should have results.
Theoretically, I should never have big missteps.
3. Explain why the logic in Step 2 is flawed.
Effort, especially in trading, is not correlated with results. Effort in the wrong direction is useless
anyways.
I expect my progress to not include drawdowns or failures. I have a false understanding of the
variance at the start of my trading, this led me to a lot of pain, which then caused me to not execute
my strategy when I actually had one that could be profitable, and then hangs over my head now.
4. Come up with a correction to that flawed logic
I cannot blame myself for having to go through this learning process. This was my learning
process. Now is different. My old mistakes have nothing to do with now. I have learned from them.
I’m here standing on their shoulders.
5. Explain why that correction is correct
Anger Profile - William
A-to-C Game Analysis - William
Peter
Hi Jared,
First, I just want to give you a huge thank you! I'm a software entrepreneur,
and your books on the mental game of poker have permanently changed
how I approach my craft. I played poker somewhat seriously when I was
younger. I hadn't touched it for a while, but recently reconnected with it
through a few books relating poker to cognitive psychology by Maria
Konnikova and Annie Duke. From there, I was just one Amazon
recommendation away from finding your work.
What's the worst thing that would happen if I thoroughly understood what
my competitors were doing? I'd find that someone else is doing exactly
what I'm doing, but better.
What would that do to me? It would make me completely reassess if I'm
building the right thing. I'd have to redirect my entire team around what I'd
found.
How would that feel? Like all my work was for nothing. It would
emotionally destroy me.
How can I prevent that from happening? Logically, I need to be aware of
what's going on around me to not end up in a situation where I'm building
against a direct competitor or copycat. It might happen, but I'll only know if
I'm paying attention to the market.
Since reading (and rereading) your books about 5 months ago, I've been
on the sharpest rise in my skill since I was a beginner. If you're ever
interested, I'd love to share more fully how I've uniquely adapted your work
to my world—I think your potential there is huge. Just let me know!
How can I do it? I can make dedicated time every week to catch up on
what's going on in my area. If I set the time aside, I can mentally prepare
myself for the anxiety that I'll feel at first. Over time, it will get easier.
For now, here's a couple of examples that you can reshare anonymously:
Why does this cause me anxiety? In a past business, I didn't know what I
was doing. I plowed deep into my funding with a half-baked idea. As the
money was running out, I was both overly committed to what I was
building and unaware of what people actually wanted to buy. I believed my
only option was to just try harder. If, at that point, I had found out someone
was building what I was building but better, it would have broken me.
1. Breaking through my fear of competitors
It took me a long time to register it, but I spent a lot of years being
unreasonably scared of competition. I subconsciously resisted
researching my competitors and understanding how my own business
compared to them. When I started getting better at gauging my emotions,
I caught the fear and used "Playing out the fear” exercise in the Mental
Game of Poker 1 (page 165). It went briefly like this:
And there it was—accumulated fear from a past experience. I realized that
it ended up not just hurting my ability to understand competition, but also
my ability to understand how customers think. Because I knew the market
so little, I couldn't describe my business well, so my marketing ability
suffered.
I now use two injecting logic statements to reinforce the resolution:
•
It doesn't make sense to be fearful of learning about competitors—
understanding what other people do is how I create edge.
•
It's okay to admit if someone else is building a better version of my
product. Ignoring it means defeat. At least I can consciously decide
how to handle it.
2. Improving focus
It's critical for me to avoid autopilot mode. Here are a few of my key A-C
indicators that I use to check myself:
Objectives:
C: I have no clear objective for what I'm doing right now.
B: I have an objective, but I haven't verbalized it.
A: I have a written, purposeful objective for the outcome I want right now.
Meetings:
C: I'm checked out, only chiming in to feel heard.
B: I'm attentive to what's going on, but not focused on the outcome.
A: I know what outcome we want, and I purposefully drive towards it.
Mini warm up / cooldown between tasks:
C: I don't even register that I changed tasks.
B: I scribble down a warm up and cooldown, but they read like platitudes.
A: I consciously remember what skills I need to write now in my warm up,
and my cooldown includes things I need to review later.
Hope that helps, and thanks again Jared!
Kate
If confidence is an emotion like the others, then I swing back and forth
between low confidence to overconfidence. More often than not, I start
the day with high confidence and am excited by the picks I have chosen to
trade. This excitement leads me very often to execute early, thinking I
need to get on the trade now as these are probably the best prices of the
day.
If the trade works out immediately, then I tend to get overconfident that
my target will be hit and I start to do other things – anything other than
making a decision before the target is hit. I believe I know what the
market is going to do now and therefore don’t need to watch.
If, however, the trade does fail, anger builds as I search for a new
opportunity. If I remain in overconfidence mode, now I start to execute
mediocre trades thinking these will easily make my money back. Often
these fail too. That’s when my confidence swings quickly back to the
lowest confidence level and I stop trading for the day. I will watch the
market, all the while fantasizing if I just did this or that I would be in a
much better position (stable confidence) and not be constantly thinking
about the mistakes made today. I pass good setups because I am already
mentally checked out and there is no way I will add to my misery.
Mental Hand History
1. What is the problem?
I am frustrated and can’t accept it when I start off the day in the red. I come into the day with high
confidence and end up forcing trades and getting in early so I don’t miss those opportunities. When
I am stopped out I can’t believe I made this mistake, start to second guess the idea, watch as the
trade eventually goes my way and quit out of frustration!
2. Why does the problem exist?
I believe I have the skills to make great trades; to make profitable trades! On average my picks
work 75% of the time, so I think I am highly intelligent and capable of hitting these moves.
3. What is flawed?
I do have a strategy that works very well over time, yet I disregard this strategy because I think I will
miss the move if I don’t get on now! I lose my mind and confidence plummets so low I quit and
think by coming back tomorrow I will be better.
4. What’s the correction?
Perfection is coming in day in and day out and always making money and making the most money I
can from my picks. I need to focus on making perfect decisions according to my strategy. I may
not always be right, but if I keep the process in focus, then in the long term my strategy will pay
out.
5. What logic confirms the correction?
I will lose and sometimes I will choose wrong picks. I can’t achieve perfection each day, but the
amount I will lose in the long term will be dwarfed by the profits overall if I remain focused on the
process and what I can control.
Matt
Brief description and some trading background
I have been trading for almost four years at the time of this writing. I am a
mostly an intuition based technical discretionary trader though I
sometimes start positions based on a system when the conditions are
favourable (these are usually started with a longer time frame in mind).
My technicals are pretty simple as I exclusively trade in fibonacci ratios
across different time frames. Technicals were never a problem since the
way I trade allows me to be very precise on my entries and exits with very
high hit rates and with very limited and defined risk. The problems and
limitations were always on the psychological side.
Personality wise, I have what I consider to be a far from ideal psyche to
trade. I am very, very demanding on myself. I self criticize a lot and I do
mean a lot. I have the tendency to be very attached to the past. I am
extremely impatient. I am also prone to changing my mind frequently. It is
very easy for me to do so. I don t́ like uncertainty very much and I am also
prone to fear due to frequent changes of mind and tilt, due to self criticism
and attachment to the past. After blowing up my account why didn t́ I just
quit? Well, because of my edge. My intuition is very accurate allowing for a
very high success rate and this is why I needed to keep going. All I needed
to do was to fix those mistakes. Always those same mistakes holding me
back, day after day, after day.
When I first started trading on a real account my first trade was on the
nasdaq futures. This happened just because I tried a trade on the demo
account, forgot about it only to find a big profit days later. At 20$ a point
the possibilities were endless when the thing moves. I was hooked.
Traded everything from oil futures, precious metals (even Palladium
futures!) to individual stocks, mainly tech stocks, my favourites. When I
reached a peak on the “I cannot deal with my brain anymore, my mistakes
are automatic and out of control” kind of thoughts I tried to keep away
from futures trading and kept to stocks only. The C-Game drawdowns
were less severe and I spent less time in front of the screens but soon I
realized the fear and tilt were there all the same even with the lower PnL ś .
I kept pressing on and on and I realized that a new framework was needed
to deal with all the crap I had inside. After reading Jared ś book the first
thing I did was to bring the Nasdaq futures chart back. Not the micro one.
The big one. The first one. It was time to face and overcome the problem.
What was holding me back?
The fear, the tilt, the lack of confidence driven by PnL fluctuations were
holding me back. The manifestations were always the same causing the
same mistakes: Canceling the good intuitive trades out of fear of
watching them go against me, manually closing the trades because of the
shitty psychic and losing conviction after a loss of perspective. In extreme
cases all of these manifestations would loop automatically, causing my CGame:
•
FOMO would lead to out of place entries when fear made me quit on
the good, limit, patient ones that would have worked perfectly with
minimal movement against entry;
•
Fear would make me cut the trades short because the risk was now
higher with the stop further away. Already in an emotional turmoil I
wouldn’t handle the slightest move against the position even if the
trade was directionally correct ultimately reaching the target;
•
Negative self-talk after the premature manual close, tilt would take
over. Revenge trading would follow. Cycle begins again. Repeat, repeat,
repeat.
The change
In order to implement a new framework successfully I knew I had to
change some things in my life. I became a student of how new habits
were created or reinforced and bad ones attenuated. Learned some tricks
like having a time and place to do something and showing up for it to
reinforce the identity or how to make good habits more appealing and bad
ones harder to accomplish. Started new habits where there were none
(everything was chaos). I now wake up early and exercise later in the
morning. I enjoy jogging and not a day goes by without it. I need it now.
Lost weight, feel healthier and more driven. I also spend more time away
from the screen.
The new framework
Because the problems were the fear, tilt and lack of confidence, the new
framework is designed to minimize their impact on my trading. Along with
the new habits created, these new guidelines have been very powerful in
changing the way I perceive what is going on in the market and my mind.
The keyword here is awareness. Without it I will be prone to making
mistakes and revisit history as those loss of control neural paths are still
very much alive. I have to be aware at all times if I still have perspective or
if I am losing it.
If I lost it I need to stop, leave the screen and regain it before acting (or
reacting). If one mistake is made the idea is to avoid repeating it. One
thing I have learned is that it ś not the first mistake that messes everything
up, but the cascade that follows. It needs to be prevented by any means
necessary.
The framework is divided in three parts:
1. The intuitive, patient entry;
2. Accepting the shitty psychic but listening to intuition;
3. Maintain the perspective and conviction.
For each of them there is a specific MHH, but first let's resume the process
according to the goals.
FRAMEWORK STEP ONE - THE ENTRY (MHH)
1. Describe the problem in detail
Bad entries (out of interest points or levels) can result in fear, risk intolerance, lack of confidence,
tilt, overtrading, revenge trading and all kinds of mistakes and mental game setbacks. This is the
first part of the framework and the most important since it prevents bigger manifestations of fear
and tilt. A good entry is a patient limit order placed on an important technical level where I am
comfortable entering the market. This entry can be driven by trending flow or an intuitive “it ś
there”. It is natural to feel a little afraid of being wrong but there is no place for the shitty psychic in
high probability areas. These entries require a patient state of mind and awareness that we don t́
need to be trading all the time. When the right wave approaches, we need to catch it and don t́ look
back. Once we are in it, it ś time to implement the next steps of the new framework.
2. Explain why it makes logical sense that you have this problem, or why you think, feel, or react
that way
If I don t́ enter the market patiently on the right levels according to intuition or market flow there is a
high probability I am giving in to FOMO, chasing price, trading PnL, closing positions manually out
out fear and tilting. I will be more exposed to a mental shutdown with automatic and uncontrolled
reactions. This is the old, standart software and it needs to be replaced. It is of most importance to
respect the first step of the framework in order for the second and third to be possible.
3. Come up with correction to that flawed logic.
•
•
•
Keep in mind the new framework and the importance of replacing the old one.
If I m
́ feeling stressed and losing perspective or a mistake was made it means that it ś time to
leave the office and do something different to regain it (go for a quick run, go outside for a bit,
meditate for a few minutes). If I cannot leave the office turning off the platform or minimize it
might help.
Return only when awareness and perspective is regained.
4. Additional thoughts about the process and how to accomplish it
When afraid or unsure, accept the discomfort as a necessary part of the process and bring the
framework to consciousness. If every checkbox is ticked there is no conscious reason to feel that
way. Hold and endure the discomfort without fear. It is necessary to overcome these difficulties in
order to reach the unlocked state of flow. Process is everything.
FRAMEWORK STEP TWO - AVOIDING THE SHITTY PSYCHIC (MHH)
FRAMEWORK STEP THREE - MAINTAINING CONVICTION AND
PERSPECTIVE (MHH)
1. Describe the problem in detail
1. Describe the problem in detail
Cancelling pending orders, tightening stops or manually closing positions out of fear are a direct
consequence of listening and reacting to what the shitty psychic is saying about the future: that a
loss is certain. These reactions are inadequate and can originate more mistakes and a negative
spiral of emotions. Following every tick, stress tends to build until a reaction finally happens.
Moments later: “I did it again. What was I thinking?”.
Lacking conviction or switching stance on the market based on meaningless price retracements
due to manipulation or other technical factors is a problem by itself, as it might disrupt the original
plan. These price movements are usually illogical, not supported by fundamentals, fast, scary and
they tend to cause emotional reactions. Reacting to them is only acceptable if intuition alerts that
money can be saved by getting out and re-entering at a more advantageous price in the original
direction. If it is only fear, reacting will cause a mistake. There will probably be no plan and the
same incapacitating fear that caused the mistake will prevent me from acting correctly in the
aftermath.
2. Explain why it makes logical sense that you have this problem, or why you think, feel, or react
that way
This is the brain’s standard software. The fight or flight mechanism is very much alive and when the
threat is anticipated, a mental shutdown happens. It ś just a matter of time.
In the new software to be installed there is no place for this behaviour anymore. Operating in an
environment of probabilities makes it necessary to let the trades play out without interference.
Intuition can and should make me act, but not fear. Satisfaction in doing the right thing and
enduring such difficulties until the target is hit is the best feeling in trading. Respecting the process
moves my inchworm forward.
2. Explain why it makes logical sense that you have this problem, or why you think, feel, or react
that way
3. Come up with correction to that flawed logic.
3. Come up with correction to that flawed logic.
•
•
•
•
•
Keep in mind the new framework and the importance of replacing the old one.
If I m
́ feeling stressed and losing perspective or a mistake was made it means that it ś time to
leave the office (for the rest of the day if need be) and do something different to regain it (go for
a quick run, go outside for a bit, meditate for a few minutes). If I cannot leave the office turning
off the platform or minimizing it might help. Screen locking the problem area using software
makes it more difficult to interfere with positions too.
Return only when awareness and perspective is regained. Anything goes. Process is everything.
If I don t́ enter the market patiently on the right levels according to intuition or market flow there is a
high probability I am giving in to FOMO, chasing price, trading PnL, closing positions manually out
out fear and tilting. I will be more exposed to a mental shutdown with automatic and uncontrolled
reactions. This is the old, standart software and it needs to be replaced. It is of most importance to
respect the first step of the framework in order for the second and third to be possible.
•
Keep in mind the new framework and the importance of replacing the old one.
If I m
́ feeling stressed and losing perspective or a mistake was made it means that it ś time to
leave the office (for the rest of the day if need be) and do something different to regain it (go for
a quick run, go outside for a bit, meditate for a few minutes). If I cannot leave the office turning
off the platform or minimizing it might help. Screen locking the problem area using software
makes it more difficult to interfere with positions too.
Return only when awareness and perspective is regained. Anything goes. Process is everything.
Whatever it takes.
4. Additional thoughts about the process and how to accomplish it
4. Additional thoughts about the process and how to accomplish it
When the shitty psychic starts screaming in my mind, let him scream without reacting to what he
says. He will go away and everything will be quiet again. Reminding myself of the importance of the
new framework provides some calm to the situation. Hold and endure the discomfort. It is normal
and needed for successful operation in the markets. Only by overcoming the difficulties, I can reach
the state of flow.
Evaluate what is going on. What changed? Is intuition alerting the move is over and a reversal is
happening? Is the fear of giving back gains taking over? The importance of not reacting is of most
importance. It is better to give some money back to the market and to do the right thing than to
make a mistake and tilt over it. Reminding myself of the importance of the new framework provides
some calm to the situation. Hold and endure the discomfort, away from the screens if needed. It is
normal and needed for successful operation in the markets. Only by overcoming the difficulties, I
can reach the state of flow.
The changes I have been making in my life are because of trading. I
believe at this point that trading has made me better. Some personality
traits are becoming more rounded and polished. I feel more disciplined,
focused, process oriented, capable, motivated and organized overall. The
skills I have been improving reach other areas. My mood doesn't swing as
much as it did before and I feel more centered since this latest push for
change. I believe I have reached a level of awareness that will allow me to
fully unlock my potential as the old framework is slowly replaced by the
new one.
Jack
Thank you Jared for the book and your thoughts.
I think as much help as tools like the map, the Mental Hand History, etc.
give, there are also some basic concepts that have helped me – like
realizing there can be flaws in how I learn from trading and I can do
something about this.
Another concept is “stable confidence”.
I knew over- and underconfidence were issues for me. And it sounds dumb in hindsight, but I
never thought of dealing with them by focusing on “stable confidence”.
I just needed some direction. To improve stable confidence, the idea of
reminding myself often of what I do well has made a big difference. When
I am over-confident the reminder is of the “DO” part of the “do well” –
so do it, don’t be careless. When I am under-confident I remind myself of
the “WELL” part – I am good at specific things.
As a result of the above concepts my win rate is up more than 10% across
the last 200 trades. But more importantly, trading isn’t “work” in the way it
was. A lot of the struggle and frustration are gone. Simply knowing that
there is a process available to deal with these things, and not keep going
in circles, has changed everything.
Thanks again.
Thank you for sharing!
For more info on Jared’s system or to download worksheets check out
www.jaredtendler.com
“In a sea of mushy trading
psychology books, The
Mental Game of Trading
stands out.”
“The best poker book ever
written, and it’s not even
close.”
“Very refreshing in today’s
space when most
everything is a rehash.
Original.”