It is a serious question. A large part of being a successful trader lies within trading psychology, some say about 80% of trading is psychological. Which is all true - if you are not actively working to master your mindset, you will lose and lose badly.
If you do not manage your emotions, your emotions will run you. And no - pretending you don't have emotions or that you aren't feeling things is not "mastering" your emotions, if anything that is a sure-fire way to make sure that whatever emotion is boiling under whatever surface is going to come exploding out in some fashion. If you have any sort of outburst, your emotions are not managed. And no, it is not a sign of "manliness" or "masculinity" to have those types of outbursts despite what some may think.
It's toddler shit. End of story.
The next question I have is for those of you who are unsure about your level of emotional intelligence - do you know what different emotions feel like in your body? It is not an uncommon thing for folks (in the western world especially) to be disconnected from your bodies. It is almost forced upon you to be in that state. Almost by default - the easiest emotion to activate is anger because it is a large, secondary emotion.
How can you even start to manage your feelings if you do not know what it is that you are feeling because you can't name the emotion that is running you?
Folks love to idolize Bruce Lee because he is certainly worthy of admiration. They will quote him talking about emotional mastery, and this is not to say that he wasn't human and didn't experience anger or rage - there are absolutely times where that should happen. But what folks fail to realize is that he was a master of his emotions because he was so deeply in tune with his body.
Feeling precedes the thought. Always. You feel a certain way, and then a series of thoughts are triggered.
So - you want to be a successful trader but can't name your emotions for shit, what do you do? Well - there are a few things that I could suggest. I'm not a professional in the realm of mental health, I've just spent my fair share of time in front of therapists to know that a good one that 1) you connect with and 2) holds you accountable for your bullshit is worth every single red cent and beyond. Invaluable, truly.
Get a therapist. Even if you don't think you need one, you should have one. Having a neutral perspective, who ultimately is on your side, will radically change your life for the better. That being said, a one-on-one therapist is great, and I am of the opinion that absolutely everyone should have a run inside of a DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy) group. You get to see yourself in other people that you may not have anything in common with on the surface, and it is massively helpful. I can say without any sort of equivocation, that DBT is one of the reasons that I have such incredible relationships in my life, and it made me come to terms with emotions that I was not processing. It focuses quite a bit on emotional intelligence in that you are actually able to name and differentiate between them. Invaluable, again.
You have heard it from almost every "guru" on the web, every billionaire success video, etc. - and there is a reason for it, the value of meditating cannot be overstated. A simple body scan meditation is really all it takes. Something to quiet the monkey mind and center. The benefits of meditation are well documented and a quick little search will yield a bounty of evidence. I personally invested in learning Transcendental Meditation technique and the Silva Ultramind method. I practice both for different reasons, but ultimately for the same purpose - to quiet the static and give me a clear frame of mind to make decisions from.
Lastly - MOVE AROUND. Move your body. Go exercise! Get into your body and get familiar with what is happening there. How can you tell what excited feels like when you don't know what your body feels like at a stasis? Go for a run, start a yoga practice, go lift weights. Literally anything but being sedentary.
Not only will you improve as a trader, you will start seeing shifts in literally every other aspect of your life if you start paying attention to and honoring your emotions. This requires responsibility, and it will yield you absolute freedom.
Good luck out there! Happy trading, and you can trade with me on ByBit!
