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This newsletter continues with some small grabs from my upcoming book the Zen Trader. It also contains a free 15 minute meditation I designed specifically for traders - although anyone will find it useful.

 
 

The markets often challenge us with uncertainty, volatility and for many probably equity drawdown, there is no better time to evaluate your thinking. Clarity of thinking is the key to discovering what  may be holding you back, or helpful in improving your performance at work and quality of life. The Zen Trader was written not just for enhancing performance and life - but also for times as we are experiencing now.

One of the biggest problems for traders is being attached, chapter 6 goes into more detail about how that mindset is detrimental to your performance as a trader and more importantly to your happiness.

Here is a sample from Chapter 6 of the Zen Trader

 The Zen secret to developing non-attachment

"Experienced Zen practitioners will say that the secret to Zen is simple. It is our conditioned and inflexible minds that make it difficult. Experienced traders will tell you the same about trading. Unhappy people tend to complain rather than having gratitude and seeing the positive side of a situation. Because their minds are inflexible, they tend to focus on what they perceive as wrong, and not on what may be right. Most traders do something similar: they react rather than respond.  Reactions (as opposed to responses) while trading often come from lacking a solid plan. Moreover, as previously discussed, many traders cannot stick to a plan even if they have one. Reacting inappropriately is the problem.

Traders do not realise that they are not just reacting to the market, but actually reacting to their mind’s perception and nonapproval of the current situation.

They are not detached from whatever event is happening in that moment. Instead, they are more attached to a possible outcome, even though most outcomes are unknown. They have not learned to separate uncomfortable emotions from the present circumstance. To alleviate their uncomfortable emotions, they react. Reacting nearly always means breaking their trading rules in an attempt to alleviate their mental suffering. So why is it so difficult to detach, and to sustain a position of nonattachment – to stay calm in the face of adversity? To not get upset, worried, angry, disappointed, depressed or anxious?

It is because our minds have been conditioned to think in a certain way. Zen Buddhists call that way dualistic thinking".....

Chapter 6 is a very challenging topic. However, it is important to understand it well because it is a huge issue for most traders. Zen is not asking you to be robotic and non feeling, quite the opposite - it is asking you to understand your emotions and turn them into the asset they can be.

A reminder that if you are interested in my weekly market comments also the 52 week closing highs for the ASX, then click on the link below where I post them every weekend.

The big news this week is that the eBook system has triggered buys this week  - as the Bull filter kicks in from the recent rally.

https://www.easysharetradingsystems.com.au/how-to-trade/52-week-highs 

I will follow up this email with another ASAP - containing a small example from the next chapter, until then live and trade well - and click on the link below for more info about the book.  You can also buy the book from Amazon, Booktopia and Audible. The link below also contains the free meditation, just scroll down the page.

Also I now post regularly on Twitter, you can find me on the link below.

https://www.easysharetradingsystems.com.au/products-and-services/e-books/zen-trader

A Zen saying

To avoid attaching to objects and ideas, remember that everything is just your perception, often caused by habitual  dualistic thinking.

Peter

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