Not long ago I was reading the book Imagine That by Dewey Friedel. It was a timely read as it coincided with my plan to lay out these 12-steps to good trading and especially the second step, which is Using Your Imagination. In the book he describes an event in the French Revolution where an experiment in a prison showed the power of imagination and suggestion. A prisoner sentenced to death was told that he would not be guillotined as was the custom then Instead he was told that one night the guards would come in and put a sack over his head and he they would slit his wrists and he would just fall asleep and die. I guess they left this thought for him to stew on a while and finally the night came where they came to him and stuck a bag over his head then proceeded to run ice over his wrists. He felt the cold wetness and laid down and went to sleep and within 20-minutes he was dead.
Now I don't know if this is a true story or not. I am guessing if it is true that it was winter or something because I just cant picture how else they come up with ice back then. Regardless of whether the story is true or not it illustrates a truth about the power of our imagination over our lives and also in our trading. A lot of people die a death like this with every trade by focusing on the bad that can happen. It is my belief that we get what we focus on....good and bad. This is a Biblical law written plain as day in the Bible so as a Christian it is easy to believe but even before becoming a Christian this truth was playing out in my life. Modern marketing is catching up with some of those laws in the form of books like The Secret and techniques like NLP and we cant ignore them as a factor in our trading.
I am including this topic early in the 12-steps because it is a foundational one that will be used in every aspect of our learning period. It is vital that we learn to use our active imagination to reflect on the things we want to accomplish and to master our methods and understanding of the market. I say active imagination because this is a step in which you have to redirect your thoughts to those things you need to focus on and meditate and imagine those things playing out. If you don't your own emotions and outside forces will drive your thoughts and that will not end up well for you or your trading. We are always in thought and imagining on some level. Lets choose our own topics.
At this point we don't have a trading method to talk about with examples, nor should we because we are building from the ground up and the entry method is the last part you need to worry about, but I am going to make some suggestions now to start building this mental muscle of imagination and when we do get a method to work with we will just apply that muscle to learning and becoming one with the method.
Lets start with something really easy and useful. Each day during the next two weeks before the next step is released I want you to start each day by doing your breathing exercise as you learned in step number one. Do this on your knees or sitting down so you don't fall right back asleep. After you have reached your calm place your mind should be clear. What you want to do is to actively imagine your day. See it played out the way you want it to go. If you are already actively trading with some method you can include some of that but see the whole day through and don't get bogged down on individual trades or anything too specific. See the outcomes not all the details at this point. When I say "see" I mean see it in your mind and feel those feelings. If it makes you smile while doing it then smile. The whole thing should only take a minute or so. You are not running through the day in detailed real-time speed but just breezing through it like a to-do list almost with pictures and feeling. Feel, see and hear as much as you can without stopping in on any one thing too much. Focus on the results or outcomes.
This may be very difficult for some of you at the start if you have not done it before. So would bench pressing 300-pounds or running a marathon. We are building a muscle. If what I described seems like too much then just imagine your morning or the next hour or two. It's the concept not the specifics. We want to build this muscle so when we get into charts and visual stuff you can have something to work with. We are also building upon the step we already learned, which was to control our breathing. After you do this morning exercises take 2-minutes to write out what you imagined your day would be like in a journal. It doesn't have to be too detailed at this point. You just want to get it down on paper. As the day moves forward and you feel under pressure from outside forces and you catch yourself imagining or focusing on what the world throws at you then return to your journal so you can see what you wanted for your day and get back on track.
I said not to get bogged down on specific details in this exercise. However, if you have big items in your life that day or in the near future that you need to spend more time on then once you finish your daily outline and journal you can go deeper into those items and see them through the way you want them to go. Just don't do it until you get your broad day down in your journal. Using the power of your imagination to visualize those bigger items through completion will help your prepare and find peace. Just actively take control and not let the dialogue or whatever develops take you out of your controlled breathing and calmness. When it does start to do that just actively clear your head by placing your tongue just below and behind your upper teeth and focus again on your breathing.
If you are really struggling with this idea of using your imagination let me make a suggestion that might help. Imagine something you have already done and will likely do again such as going to the grocery store with a list. See yourself get to the store...walk in...glance at the list...grab the cart...flash to the isles...cart is filling...next item...next item...look at the check out....number 8 looks clear...put items on the sliding thing....swipe the card...smile...say bye...go home...etc.
It may take using your memory muscle to develop your look-ahead muscle. The only difference is the timeline. You need to be looking forward in time so make that shift. Work on this for the next two weeks and email me when you have trouble or need help. Actively combine steps 1 and 2. We will be using our imagination when we get more into the market. When you are in control of your own imagination and not letting it run free under the influence of every suggestion the world throws at us then you have real power and learning is accelerated. And just as important, we get in our lives what we actively focus on or imagine.
I promise you that we will be getting to trading specifics but if you don't have this stuff in your arsenal you will be just like every other person who fails so stay with me and we will build it from the ground up.
To learn more about using your imagination for trading or to learn more about my trading method and trader support system please visit http://www.wattstrading.com
Ryan Watts is a full-time technical trader, money manager, and trading coach with over twelve years experience in short-term trading. For more information on his trading system and live trading room visit http://www.wattstrading.com
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