Our biggest challenge as traders and actually in life is to move beyond the perceptions inherited from the collective which we have adopted as beliefs which we have made true for us. The idea that anger is bad and therefore must not be shown belongs into this category.
Let us be honest. We all feel anger at times and we all do our utmost, as civilized human beings to suppress it. The idea that you should trade with non attachment and let losing be okay is very valid and something you should strive for, yet it can also lead to self flagellation and suppression of emotions as you do your utmost to live up to the model of the ideal, successful trader. In other words, they may not necessarily improve your trading psychology but deteriorate it.
What if I told you that there is not an ideal model of successful trading?
The reality underneath it all is this. You and I are different individuals, each with their own very individual experiences which were formed from the moment of conception. Our development level, which also is different in each of us to some degree, dictates how you view your world and how you view your trading. It also dictates to what degree you are able to co-create a new reality in your trading and in your life in general.
Anger is neither bad nor good
However, hanging on to it, stuffing it down deep inside you is bad for you and bad for your trading. The reason for this is displacement, as it is called in psychology. In other words, your suppressed emotions surface in other areas. You will not be consciously aware of it and that is a major issue many traders face without realising it.
If you need to be angry, let it be okay
Put simply, the best favor you can do yourself and the anger you may be experiencing, is to accept it. Give the anger space to express itself. If you are feeling rage, which is of course invariably ultimately directed at yourself, allow it. Feel it and accept it. Simply give yourself permission to be aware of what is going on and above all give yourself permission to be compassionate with yourself. This is what I mean by giving an emotion space. The spaciousness is the tool that gives the emotion the fuel to dissipate and be transmuted into a more resourceful energy frequency.
Emotion is simply energy in motion
Energy needs to flow. It is neither good nor bad, it simply is either vibrating at a higher level or at a lower level. I discuss these ideas in more detail in my book “The Buddhist Trader” where you also find tools to deal with emotional issues. We are conditioned to fit into a model of the perfect behavior for the perfect trader, for the perfect husband or wife, the perfect host, and so on. We are given models for the perfect trade set up and the perfect trade exit, the perfect trade management. All this is very well and good, but the idea is based on outdated Newtonian ideas on how the universe works and how we work. When viewed from the quantum perspective a very different picture emerges.
Flow is the essence of all that exists
Here we are thinking that everything fits into neat mechanical boxes when as scientists are proving to us now, actually our world and how we create it is a fluid constantly changing and shifting mix of energy in permanent motion. Our attempts to fix things into place through judgement and through clinging to fixed ideas of how things must unfold simply does not hold true anymore in the face of the new evidence on how everything in this world works.
Your biggest asset is you. You owe it to yourself to understand as much about your operating system, and this includes the mind, body, soul matrix, as you can. This knowledge and learning the tools to use the knowledge to your advantage in your in your trading and in your daily life will improve your trading, nothing else can.
