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body. All we are trying to do is more consciously use these associations to our own benefit. Then, when set in place, they can operate largely on their own. |
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Here's a simple example of how professional golfers use a trigger to help them enter into a set sequence they want to go through as they step up to hit the ball. This is called a "preshot routine" and is a common sequence that good players go through before every shot. One pro on the tour decides on a club, pulls it out of his bag, and then stands behind the ball to line up the shot. He visualizes the path he wants the ball to fly. Then, just before stepping toward the ball, he hitches up his pants. |
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Now, this hitching up of his pants, which appears to the outsider as just a nervous habit under pressure, is something more. It is a trigger behavior that launches the approach to the ball and may have a positive thought associated with it, such as "Just put a nice, smooth swing on it." |
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Using the same example of a professional golfer, an anchoring behavior would be holding his position on the follow-through of the swing, which builds in a mental/neurological connection between a good swing and a good shot. Holding the position allows for this connection to be remembered in the body. |
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This technique is more cognitively oriented than the last two. It is to keep an ongoing journal of your trades. But the focus is not on buy and sell points; it is on your thoughts and feelings before, during, and after the trade. |
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This one requires some discipline to stay with and will be especially challenging for those active traders who don't want to be distracted between trades with having to monitor their own mental processes. But even active traders should try this, as it may help them discover common thought patterns hampering their trading of which they otherwise may not become aware. |
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Each time you trade, make a note of what you were feeling and thinking leading up to the trade. Were you feeling anything at all? Or were you just thinking? How did you know you wanted to make this trade? How fast after deciding to make it did you actually go into action? I want you to become very aware of exactly what you are thinking in the minutes before making a trade, and any feeling tone associated to your thoughts. |
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