Do you use metaphors in life? I have found them useful.These are like the crutches which help me navigate the complexities of life. One of my favorite one being- life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass, it’s about dancing in the rain! Or this one- life is what happens to us while we are making other plans!

Why am I talking metaphors today, well because this is all about conditioning the mind to operate in the zone, the state of perfection! I trade the financial markets, which are very competitive in nature, nothing less than perfection will do in this business! The mind over market concept is now formally studied as part of behavioral finance, the psychology of the trader. The mentors, I have come to respect in this industry, all tell me that trading is one third psychology, one third execution and one third setups. So if I just mastered the charts alone, it is just one third of the battle:-)

I was researching how people in the financial market community use metaphors in life. I came across psychologist Ruth Barrons Roosevelt article
“I like to think of trading as sailing. Here you harness the forces that are there. You take into account the wind direction and velocity, the currents, and your destination. You’ve got your charts to guide you and you constantly adjust to nature’s forces, sometimes pointing into the wind, sometimes running before the wind, sometimes tacking, but always in partnership with your boat, your crew, the wind, and the currents. Sure, storms can come up, but you can always let down the sail and anchor and wait out the storm. You work with the forces that are there, the forces that are much bigger than you, but you enjoy the journey, the day, the sport, and you’re confident you can get to your destination, your port, your safe harbor.”

Of course some people compare trading to fishing where the patience is the key element people are trying to focus on. Some compare trading to a sniper, or a pray -predator relationship. Look for the opportunity and jump on it, no room for error. It all depends on ones mental makeup which one you like more, obviously the aggressive types will prefer the pray predator metaphor, but the same metaphor may have negative connotation to the conservative mindset traders.( BTW the picture above is of a lioness I captured in my Nikon DSLR, look at the intense eyes, that is what you need, if you believe in the pray-predator metaphor).

I like the sailing analogy to trading that Ms. Ruth provided, to me trading is a complex endeavor, and sailing is apt representation, the winds – if you get tailwinds that is, will make for a soaring bottom line, on the other hand if you have headwinds…well you need to learn to deal with that too, else the boat sinks So what are the metaphors you use in your life or work:-)

>
Do you use metaphors in life? I have found them useful.These are like the crutches which help me navigate the complexities of life. One of my favorite one being- life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass, it’s about dancing in the rain! Or this one- life is what happens to us while we are making other plans!

Why am I talking metaphors today, well because this is all about conditioning the mind to operate in the zone, the state of perfection! I trade the financial markets, which are very competitive in nature, nothing less than perfection will do in this business! The mind over market concept is now formally studied as part of behavioral finance, the psychology of the trader. The mentors, I have come to respect in this industry, all tell me that trading is one third psychology, one third execution and one third setups. So if i just mastered the charts alone, it is just one third of the battle:-)

I was researching how people in the financial market community use metaphors in life. I came across psychologist Ruth Barrons Roosevelt article
“I like to think of trading as sailing. Here you harness the forces that are there. You take into account the wind direction and velocity, the currents, and your destination. You’ve got your charts to guide you and you constantly adjust to nature’s forces, sometimes pointing into the wind, sometimes running before the wind, sometimes tacking, but always in partnership with your boat, your crew, the wind, and the currents. Sure, storms can come up, but you can always let down the sail and anchor and wait out the storm. You work with the forces that are there, the forces that are much bigger than you, but you enjoy the journey, the day, the sport, and you’re confident you can get to your destination, your port, your safe harbor.”

Of course some people compare trading to fishing where the patience is the key element people are trying to focus on. Some compare trading to a sniper, or a pray -predator relationship. Look for the opportunity and jump on it, no room for error. It all depends on ones mental makeup which one you like more, obviously the aggressive types will prefer the pray predator metaphor, but the same metaphor may have negative connotation to the conservative mindset traders( BTW the picture above is of a lioness I captured in my Nikon DSLR, look at the intense eyes, that kind of focus and intensity is what you need, if you believe in the pray-predator metaphor).

I like the sailing analogy to trading that Ms. Ruth provided, to me trading is a complex endeavor, and sailing is apt representation, the winds – if you get tailwinds that is, will make for a soaring bottom line, on the other hand if you have headwinds…well you need to learn to deal with that too, else the boat sinks So what are the metaphors you use in your life or work:-)