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.”
