Magic is believing in yourself. If you can do that, you
can make anything happen...But remember to give thanks to God...Johann Wolfgang von
Goethe
This trap is deceptively simple because most people, when questioned, will tell you that they totally believe in themselves
and deserve to be successful as traders.
Yet, when you expose the majority of people to the myriad of real time decisions afforded by the market, this belief
system reveals how fragile and fleeting it is, and begins to fall apart. Traders spend more than 90 percent of their time
thinking, questioning, doubting, reassessing, struggling to keep focused, being whipsawed by emotions and just plain
worrying if they are doing or not doing the right thing. What part of any of these activities reflects authentic belief in
oneself?
When I say believe in yourself, I am not talking about superficial muttering for the sake of political or social correctness. I
am talking about a deep-seated, absolutely incontrovertible and unshakeable belief in yourself as a consistently successful
trader. This is among the most difficult challenges you face because it requires you to construct an adequate and realistic
self-image and then use that image to propel you to achieve your trading goals. It is like making a movie of yourself or
setting the stage for the most eloquent performance of your life.
More than that, it requires that you go deep within yourself to those messages which were given to your limbic rat brain
memory at an early age. Many of you can identify with these messages. They may be hurtful, painful and very deepseated.
How many times when you were growing up did you hear the word “No?" How many times were you told that
you were bad because you did this or that, or you would be punished if you did not say things in a certain way, and all of
Page 2 © Copyright 2008 – Janice Dorn, M.D., Ph.D. www.thetradingdoctor.com
the horrible things that might happen to you if you disobeyed or did not listen? How many times were you told that you
would never amount to anything and that you were just plain not good enough?
These limbic rat brain memories are intensely powerful and also very sneaky because many of you have spent your lives
hiding from them or denying them. Because few want to admit that they harbor massive insecurities, they act out their
lives in such a way as to make these messages self-fulfilling and then sit around scratching their heads and wondering
why they are not getting anywhere or why they are failing to achieve their goals. In essence, what people are doing in
this situation is affirming the negative messages stored in their brains. If your self-image is one of shame, guilt, anxiety
and insecurity you will sabotage your trading IN ORDER TO LOSE. Yes. You will set yourself up, just as more than 50% of
traders do, to actually lose. This then reinforces that you deserve nothing good and deepens the shame and selfcontempt.
I know it's not easy for many of you to hear this, let alone wrap your brain around it as it applies to you. But,
you must be strong enough to do it, because it means the difference between failure and success in your trading and
your life.
What do you do about this? It's simple, but not easy. You must reprogram your brain with new messages about yourself.
You must literally begin to see yourself as successful, confident and powerful. You do this by making new mental images,
by re-etching your limbic system with messages of empowerment. Make a new movie of your life, with bright and colorful
pictures of joy and unlimited success and happiness.
Some people do this through constant and unrelenting affirmations which they practice on a regular basis several times a
day until the messages get through. It takes approximately 21 days of consistent and dedicated practice to change a
habit. It takes 21 days of constant, dedicated repetition for one positive message to get entrained into your nervous
system.
What is required to change your belief system about yourself is to truly see yourself as successful. It is like taking a
photograph of yourself right now and then stepping back and looking at how you would like it to be if you were living up
to your full potential. There are many ways to do this and I will go into much more specifics in a future edition of The
Trading Doctor Monthly Newsletter. For beginners, try this simple experiment: Right now, pay attention to how you are
sitting in your chair, the look on your face, how your shoulders are positioned, your posture and demeanor, and how you
are feeling about yourself. Be radically honest about it. Take a snapshot of it in your mind. Now - stand up and walk away
from the chair to the other side of the room. Look at the empty chair and picture yourself sitting in that chair as the
person you would like to be. Picture how you would look and feel if you had everything you wanted. Keep taking
snapshots of success in your mind. Keep doing it. Now, walk back to your chair, sit down and be that snapshot of success
and fulfillment and true esteem of yourself. How does that feel?
This is the beginning of neurological entrainment of positive affirmations. . This is the start of believing in your ability to
do anything you want to do. This is the start of your new truth which you will etch onto your brain one day at a time as
you master your mindset on the way to full realization of your true and authentic self as a powerful trader and human
being. You are more powerful and precious than you will ever know. Everything that you truly are, you are now
becoming. It works if you work it, so make it work now. Lights, camera, action...Go for it. You can do it, and you deserve
it!
Some people say I have attitude - maybe I do...but I think you have to. You have to believe in yourself when no one else
does - that makes you a winner right there...Venus Williams.
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