Affirm To Win

Affirm To Win

Trading can be exhilarating. When you see a trading plan come to fruition, you cannot help but feel a little special. There are those times, however, when you feel frustrated and disappointed. You regret making a few bad decisions, and may question your ability to return to profitability or achieve enduring financial success. Your confidence can become shaken, and you can lose yourself in feelings of doubt and despair. At times of uncertainty, making affirmations can help you recapture a winning state of mind.

Affirmations are positive statements that motivate you. They remind you of your goals, what's important to you. For example, suppose you have just made a series of losing trades and are feeling disappointed and stuck in a psychological rut. You can recover quickly by repeating a series of positive affirmations:

• I'm human. I can make mistakes.
• Losing trades are just part of the business of trading.
• My goal is to achieve enduring profitability.
• The big picture is all that matters.
• A few losses here and there are of little consequence for the big picture.
• Through hard work and experience, I'll achieve my financial goals.

Affirmations remind you of who you are and where you're going. If you repeat the affirmations over and over again, you'll start to feel empowered. Even major setbacks suddenly seem unimportant.

You can make up a set of affirmations for any trading issue. For example, suppose you have trouble patiently waiting for a trading plan to pan out. Under these circumstances you might say, "I have willpower. I am in control. Winning traders are disciplined. I've made my trading plan, and I can follow it and wait to see what happens. I can learn to trade with discipline. The more I practice discipline, the more disciplined I will become. With each trading plan I successfully follow, I'll gain more self-control. Over time, I will become stronger, decisive, and able to control my emotions."

Affirmations can also address a more general issue, such as low self-esteem. Some traders manifest low self-esteem by defining their self-worth by their net worth. They may feel on top the world when they make a winning trade, but worthless and inadequate when they lose. Affirmations can help matters. A trader with low self-esteem may affirm, "I am human, and as a human, I have self-worth no matter how much money I have or how many losing trades I make. My worth is not defined by whether I win or lose. Trading is not my entire life. Winning or losing doesn't define who I am."

Affirmations are personal. What you write down and recite is up to you. Affirmations should inspire you, guide you, and motivate you. But whatever you write down and repeat to yourself, it should address your desires, goals, and reasons for trading. At first glance, repeating an affirmation over and over seems like an inconsequential solution, but try it. You'll find it does wonders for your motivation and your mindset. Soon, you'll find that you don't have to consciously repeat the affirmations; you'll think of the positive statements automatically. Over time, you'll train your mind to think positively. You'll approach trading with a winning mindset that will help you achieve enduring financial success.