30 Trading Habits in 30 Days- The Daily Gratitude Exercise

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Welcome back to our new series 30 trading habits in 30 days.  In this video, I share why we created this series for the trading community and how it can help your trading.

Today we share habit #5- the daily gratitude exercise.

One habit to adopt to help us think more constructively as a trader is the daily gratitude exercise.  It was taught to my firm and me by Dr. Andrew Menaker during a talk to our traders.

Why is it important?

Each trade is an opportunity to learn.  Each trade is a gift from the market for us to improve as a trader.  The market teaches us with each trade whether our idea was right or wrong.  Whether our execution was good or poor. Whether the setup is one to study or eliminate.  Whether we should have traded it bigger or smaller.

Each trade is not merely an opportunity to profit or lose.  Thinking this way is an unhappy path to a short career as trader.

But there is that big scoreboard on the desktop of every trader, Mr. PnL.  How can we avoid judging success or failure on Mr. PnL?  I am up $4500 in $BABA and $TRIP.  I am smart.  I am handsome.  I think my hair is growing back.  I am down $2500 $FIT.  I need to lose weight.  I am stupid.

We can learn a better way to think as a trader.  I would argue we must learn a better way to think if we want to sustain as a trader.  We can learn to be grateful for each trade and the information the market shares with us each trade.  Thus improving trade by trade.

I practice the gratitude exercise each night.  it is a habit.

Here’s how it works.

Before bed think of three things for which to be grateful.  This is a habit we have adopted in our home.  Each night I put my son, Luke, to bed.  We have a routine.  A portion of this routine is to give thanks for that which we are grateful.

  • We are grateful to have such a beautiful baby boy in Lukey.
  • We are grateful to have such an amazing baby sister in Reesey.
  • We are grateful for Vivi, who takes such good care of us.
  • We are grateful for fun Aunt Maureen.
  • We are grateful for the time we spend together as a family.
  • We are grateful for mom and everything she does for us.
  • We are grateful we can work to improve ourselves each day.

When we learn to be grateful this helps us see each trade for what it truly is.  An opportunity to learn and grow as traders.  And something for which to be grateful.

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The Daily Gratitude Exercise

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