Can Meditation Make You a Better Trader?

In today’s episode, we are going to be discussing how traders can use meditation to improve their trading and their lives!  You often hear us talking about how important mindset is for trading success and one of the best ways that you can build and maintain a positive mindset is by meditating regularly.  Just like our bodies require an ample amount of rest through sleep, our minds also require a “rest” from the thousands of thoughts we have on a daily basis and meditation gives your mind that rest so that you can remain more calm, focused and productive throughout your day!  What is Meditation?  A tool to manage stress and control reactions to stressful situations  “A practice where an individual uses a technique, such as focusing their mind on a particular object, thought or activity, to achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm state”  You observe your thoughts, release them and then return your awareness to a focal point  The act and practice of focusing your awareness on the present moment  What Meditation is not?  It’s not sitting at a pool and relaxing  It’s not going to the gym or getting in the zone Meditation is not relaxing but it IS relaxing  What are the benefits of meditation?  Builds mental health  Prevents mental decline  Increases awareness  Increases alpha wave activity  Increases happiness while reducing negative emotions (helps with depression)  Improves focus, attention, and the ability to work under stress  Improves information processing and decision-making  Improves mental strength, resilience, and emotional intelligence Why Should Traders Consider Meditation?  Lots of emotional strain as a result of monetary gains and losses  Emotions live on thoughts  The cycle traders often fall into is feeling anxious or happy which gets you thinking about money and your emotional state interferes with market analysis as a result Helps to become more relaxed and to bring yourself back to the present when the brain is distracted by emotions  The chief benefit of meditation for traders may be to ground us in the now, allowing us to make decisions based upon present-centered awareness, rather than past and future concerns over profits and losses How to get started with meditation?  Choose a time of day when you will be able to meditate; the best times for traders are shortly after waking up and/or pre-market!  Choose a quiet and comfortable place that you can meditate safely without any noisy distractions Start off with guided meditations to get more comfortable with meditating; you can download apps such as Calm, Headspace or Insight Timer for free to start or use Youtube to find solid choices.  Start with a 5-minute meditation and build this up as you get more comfortable with the practice; ideally, you will get up to 15-20 minutes+ on a daily basis  When you are first starting it is common for your mind to wander; if this occurs, notice your mind wandering and then gently guide yourself back to focusing on your breathing Some of my favs include Peak Performance visualization by Rebecca Smith & Empowered Performance by Shannon Reinard Demko Resources Enjoying this podcast? We'd appreciate if you can drop us a rating and review on iTunes here  Connect with our community online: Trade Pro Academy Catch up with our earlier episodes: Mind Over Markets Podcast Check out the 10 Minute Deep & Powerful Higher Self Guided Meditation on Youtube here Some of Mark's favorite guided meditations on Insight Timer include: Peak Performance visualization by Rebecca Smith & Empowered Performance by Shannon Reinard Demko