Info!! How To Lay Your Greatest Strengths Too Virtues

In the most recent post, nosotros looked at 3 questions that every trader needs to inquire themselves to ensure that they are making the most of their work--and their personal life.  The cardinal thought is that peak functioning requires something to a greater extent than than merely correcting our mistakes together with minimizing our weaknesses.  To last at our best--at work, inward relationships--we must play to our strengths together with honor outlets for our virtues.

But if we've been work focused, how tin nosotros await at ourselves afresh together with position our greatest strengths together with virtues?  

Here is a elementary but powerful exercise inward self-discovery:

Write downward 10 of the happiest, most fulfilling, together with most satisfying events of your life to date.  These tin last drawn from your work, your relationships, your personal interests, your past, or your to a greater extent than recent experience.  The listing should capture the truthful highlights of your life:  meaningful experiences, rewarding accomplishments, positive together with memorable occasions.  

Once you lot stimulate got generated the listing of 10, side past times side to each i write downward the strengths associated alongside each from the listing of 24 below.  Each experience may comprehend to a greater extent than than i strength.

1)  Zest - approaching life alongside a high score of loose energy together with enthusiasm;
2)  Grit - persistence inward the confront of challenge
3)  Self Control - displaying odd dependent together with self mastery
4)  Social Intelligence - displaying detail sensitivity to the needs together with feelings of self together with others  
5)  Gratitude - beingness thankful for what you lot have
6)  Love - beingness around others
7)  Hope - having optimism well-nigh the hereafter together with working toward it
8)  Humor - beingness able to express mirth together with savour oneself
9)  Creativity - generating novel together with valuable ways to cry upwardly well-nigh together with produce things
10)  Curiosity - beingness interested inward something for its ain sake together with delving into it
11)  Open Mindedness - approaching experience inward an accepting way, viewing it from all sides
12)  Love of Learning - mastering a novel expanse of noesis or skill
13)  Wisdom - providing deep together with valuable perspective to others
14)  Bravery - standing upwardly for what is right, willingness to confront threats
15)  Integrity - speaking upwardly for together with acting upon your values
16)  Kindness - doing practiced things for others together with caring for them
17)  Citizenship - working effectively as business office of a squad or community
18)  Fairness - treating others equally
19)  Leadership - providing direction together with back upwardly for a grouping to which you lot belong
20)  Forgiveness - accepting the shortcomings of others together with forgiving their wrongdoings
21)  Modesty - allowing one's actions to utter for themselves without self-aggrandizement
22)  Prudence - exercising restraint together with discretion well-nigh one's choices without taking undue risks
23)  Appreciation of Beauty - noticing together with valuing beauty together with excellence
24)  Spirituality - asset together with acting upon beliefs well-nigh higher role together with pregnant inward life

For some of your transcend 10 life experiences, multiple strengths volition last apparent.  Others may dominantly tap i or 2 strengths.  As you lot survey the strengths attached to each of your peak life experiences, last especially attentive to the items that recur.  These are your signature strengths--the ones most consistently associated alongside your happiness, success, together with fulfillment.

Once you've identified your centre strengths, you lot tin together with so inquire yourself:

*  How consistently am I tapping into these strengths inward my work?

*  How consistently am I tapping into these strengths inward my trading?

*  How consistently produce my relationships tap into these strengths?

*  How many of my transcend strengths honor an active outlet each calendar week inward my life?

It is non uncommon that people honor that they are spending a relatively small-scale proportion of their fourth dimension activating the virtues together with strengths that stimulate got provided them alongside their best life experiences.  That is an of import argue why so many people experience disengaged at work; why so many friendships together with romantic relationships cash inward one's chips stale; together with why our trading fails to larn to that side past times side level.

Sometimes the respond is to approach work, relationships, together with trading differently--in ways that ameliorate play to our strengths.

Sometimes the respond is to rethink our work, relationships, together with trading altogether.

We pass a nifty bargain of fourth dimension climbing the ladder of success.  Make certain that ladder is leaning against the right building.

Further Reading:  Positive Psychology together with Trading Psychology Podcast
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Info!! How Nosotros Tin Burn On All Cylinders Inwards Our Trading Functioning As Well As Inwards Life

The former trading psychology emphasized controlling emotions, imposing discipline, too coping amongst the stresses of the ups too downs of markets too profits.

What my novel majority refers to equally Trading Psychology 2.0 is that performance--in trading too across life--is a constituent of cultivating positive emotional experience, edifice on cognitive too personality strengths, too enhancing our inventiveness too adaptability.

In short, the former psychology is all virtually minimizing problems too disruptions.  The novel psychology focuses on edifice our most positive attributes.

Most of us constituent inwards 1.5 land:  nosotros are neither mired inwards problems, nor are nosotros actively identifying too strengthening the best of who nosotros are too what nosotros do.  We don't abhor our lives, merely nosotros are non inwards dearest amongst our lives.  We wake up, attend to forenoon routines, become virtually our work, too alive life to a greater extent than or less on auto pilot--until random positive or negative events laissez passer on off to befall us.

As constituent of researching the novel book, I convey consumed a steady diet of positive psychology books too research.  The full general decision emerging from this function is that at that spot is more--much more--we could last doing to renew our romance amongst our lives.  Positive emotional sense is something that tin last taught too learned.  H5N1 few basic exercises, conducted amongst consistency, tin brand a meaningful divergence inwards our levels of happiness, life satisfaction, pose out energy level, too attachment to others.

Consider the Penn Resiliency Program described yesteryear Martin Seligman inwards his majority Flourish.  This began equally an evidence-based intervention for schoolchildren to learn them skills that foreclose depression.  Through the program, students were given twelve sessions of 90-120 minutes each, focusing on information, skills-building, too betwixt session homework.  Skills included cognitive techniques for dealing amongst negative thoughts too a diversity of problem-solving too coping methods.  

As Seligman outlines inwards his book, the Penn Resiliency Program did indeed lower the incidence too prevalence of depression, anxiety, too behavioral problems inside the pupil population for 2 total years next the 12-session intervention.  Lo too behold, however, the programme too resulted inwards a number of positive outcomes, including improve grades, greater curiosity too dearest of learning, improved emotional too social intelligence, too increased happiness, hope, too optimism.   

This supports the query of Michael Fordyce, who constitute that didactics skills related to xiv fundamentals of well-being resulted inwards important improvements inwards happiness too life satisfaction.  Like the Penn program, Fordyce's preparation was relatively brief, merely focused on concrete skills too their day-to-day implementation.

Imagine if you lot ready out--each day--to implement a unmarried activity designed to improve your life inwards 4 unlike areas:  your happiness too joyful experience; your satisfaction amongst aspects of your life; your flat of pose out energy too enthusiasm; too your connections to friends, family, too romantic partner.  Over time, what would last the compounding number of such skill-building?  How would it touching your daily sense if each twenty-four lx minutes menstruation was a twenty-four lx minutes menstruation inwards the emotional gym, where you lot gave happiness too well-being a expert workout?

To borrow an analogy from Colin Wilson, nosotros are similar automobiles running on a unmarried cylinder.  Frustrated amongst our dull speed, nosotros persistently striking our gas pedal, taxing our engines fifty-fifty farther too reducing our efficiency.  What nosotros demand is to halt the car, acquire nether the hood, too overhaul our engines.  The elements of subjective well-being are the cylinders of our engine.  Life is a lot to a greater extent than productive, a lot to a greater extent than enjoyable, too a lot healthier if nosotros are firing on all cylinders.

Further Reading:  Happiness too the Power of Expectations
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Info!! Brett Steenbarger's Peak Forbes Postings On Functioning Psychology

I've been writing the trading psychology books page.


TOP FORBES POSTINGS ON PERFORMANCE PSYCHOLOGY

*  Life every bit a Gymnasium

*  Therapy for the Mentally Well

*  A Positive Psychology Checkup From the Neck Up

*  Turning Setbacks Into Successes

*  Why We Don't Perform to Our Potential

*  Creativity as well as Investment Performance

*  The First Law of Strengths

*  Three Positive Principles of Performance

*  Self-Leadership as well as Success

*  The Secret to Changing Our Selves

*  Appreciative Inquiry:  Leading past times Asking the Right Questions

*  A Solution-Focused Framework for Performance

*  The Mirror Principle as well as Performance

*  Two Powerful Reasons for Keeping a Journal

*  Resilience:  Winning past times Failing

*  Mastering Change past times Becoming Our Own Psychologists

*  The Purr Principle: Building Great Relationships

*  Assessing Your Positives:  Are You Flourishing?

*  Making Rapid as well as Profound Life Changes

*  Luck is Living Creatively

*  Living Fearlessly past times Facing Your Fears

*  How to Light the Fire When You're Burned Out

*  Four Strategies for Building Our Success

*  Time Maps:  H5N1 Powerful Tool for Performance as well as Development

*  The Most Powerful Technique for Making Life Changes

*  How to Actually Reach the Goals You Set

*  Purpose, as well as Living Life With Renewed Energy

*  Becoming the Kind of Leader You Would Want to Follow

*  Energizing Our Efforts past times Finding Our Second Wind

*  Emotional Creativity:  How We Can Become More Creative

*  Turning Your Calendar Into a Peak Performance Tool

*  Cultivating Creativity Through Play

*  Changing Yourself past times Changing Your Self

*  Four Lessons Learned From Training Successful Traders

*  How Our Strengths Can Weaken Our Performance

*  Fresh Perspectives on Time Management

*  Teamwork as well as Trading Success

*  The Psychology of Giving

BACK TO THE TRADERFEED HOME PAGE

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Info!! Trading Functioning Together With Developing A Positive Psychology

Reader Adam wisely pointed out the solution-focused move I've described inward many posts. By focusing on their strengths, traders may hold upwards cultivating the optimism needed to sustain a lengthy learning crease together with the emotional resilience needed to cause produce amongst inevitable setbacks.

An interesting finding from the query amongst students is that those who focused on strengths were to a greater extent than engaged inward the learning procedure together with experienced greater enjoyment inward school.

Many times, traders kill off their motivation together with harm their resilience yesteryear focusing on their weaknesses, blaming themselves for setbacks, together with using trading every bit a venue for acting out self-critical self-talk together with behavior. The fascinating finding of the recent query is that positive psychology is non but inborn; it tin terminate hold upwards cultivated.

We would hold off that those who perform good inward markets would hold upwards happier together with to a greater extent than fulfilled inward their trading than those who perform poorly. Less good appreciated is that those who are happier together with to a greater extent than fulfilled inward their learning processes are to a greater extent than probable to perform good over time.

For to a greater extent than on this topic, depository fiscal establishment gibe out the postal service on Building Trading Strengths.

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Info!! Trading Psychology: The Best Of 2009 - Book Three

This post service continues the catalog of best psychology posts from 2009, focusing on the 3rd quarter. The best posts of the commencement quarter tin last constitute here; here's where you lot tin honour the best of the bit quarter.

I convey likewise archived the best posts from prior years: here's where you lot tin honour favorites from 2006, 2007, in addition to 2008. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 course of written report archive of posts regarding trading techniques in addition to indicators can last constitute here.

* A Trading Self-Evaluation

* The Importance of the Gut inward Trading

* The Perils of Trading equally a Victim

* Building Trading Strengths

* Five Features Distinguishing Great Traders

* Becoming the Best Trader You Can Be

* The Problem of Addiction inward Trading

* The Value of Trading equally a Pursuit

* Mindfulness inward Trading

* Overcoming Failure

* Why It's Important to Listen to Yourself

* What Are Reasonable Performance Expectations for a Trader?

* Knowing Your Best Trading Processes

* Identifying Your Trading Rules

* The Challenge of Mental Fatigue

* The Problems of Trauma inward Trading

* The Highest Priority for Stressed Out Traders

* Why Traders Can't Follow Their Rules in addition to Systems

* Measuring Your Trading Success; See likewise Favorite Trading Metrics

* The Relationship Between Performance in addition to Effort

* Developing Rule-Based Discipline

* Cultivating a Positive Psychology

* Trading Like a Seahorse

* Three Reasons for NOT Pursuing Trading equally a Career

* The Dynamics of Trading Success

* Trading equally Entrepreneurship

* Panic Rarely Pays

* The Challenging Economics of Trading for a Living

* Overcoming Frustration inward Trading; meet likewise Overcoming Stubbornness

* Developing Self-Regulation

* Perspectives on Success; meet likewise Perspectives on Greatness

* Finding the Ideal Trading Environment

* The Importance of Happiness

* Overcoming Negative Self-Talk

* Continuous Quality Improvement inward Trading

* The Decision to Give Up Trading

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Info!! V Keys To Making Big Changes Inwards Your Life

People oft own got an involvement inwards psychology because they wishing to brand changes inwards their lives.  They come across that their trading could endure better; they desire to brand improvements inwards their relationships, or perchance improve themselves inwards simply about way.  The challenge is getting from hither to there.  How do nosotros brand meaningful changes inwards our lives?

Research into counseling too psychotherapy is a little-appreciated treasure trove of data on how people brand life changes.  What does this inquiry state us nigh ways of making important changes inwards reasonable amounts of time?  Here are 5 of import principles:

1)  Focus your alter efforts - Sometimes nosotros are frustrated amongst how things are going at operate or at dwelling solid too nosotros desire to address too alter everything.  That's a mistake.  Setting smaller, targeted goals too creating a serial of pocket-size wins is much to a greater extent than effective inwards catalyzing an ongoing alter procedure than tackling everything inwards diluted fashion.  When goals are concrete too measurable, it's easier to appreciate when you're making progress too when you're non too taking appropriate corrective steps every bit needed.  

2)  Make your alter efforts active - Too many people approach psychological operate the way they approach religious worship:  i time a calendar week they devote their efforts too pretty much forget things the remainder of the time.  That doesn't operate psychologically or spiritually.  Any destination worth pursuing is worth pursuing daily, too it helps (as role of the aforementioned focus) to own got daily activities that motion yous toward your goal.  If yous desire to larn into shape, yous operate out daily too keep a daily diet.  If yous desire to improve your trading, yous operate on improvements that tin endure implemented each day.  When the alter procedure is active, changes are to a greater extent than probable to larn role of you.

3)  Make your alter efforts sustainable - It's tough to sustain an active alter procedure if that procedure is onerous.  The most effective changes nosotros tin brand are ones that larn habit patterns.  Yes, nosotros oft own got to motivate ourselves to larn over the hump of erstwhile habits too engage inwards novel behaviors, but eventually nosotros desire to motion past times motivation.  We desire those novel behaviors to larn routine.  This is most probable to compass off if our alter efforts are sustainable:  enjoyable to pursue too doable.  If our efforts at alter are frustrating, we'll probable abandon them.  The psychology inquiry is clear: it is easier to initiate changes than to sustain them.  Goals must endure engaging too achievable.  Small wins, over time, sustain the feel of beingness a winner--and that energizes hereafter goals.

4)  Begin amongst changes you're already making - This is the essence of the solution-focused approach, where nosotros alter past times edifice on existing strengths too positive patterns.  If yous desire to improve your trading, written report your best trading too position what yous do when yous merchandise well.  If yous desire to improve your marriage, focus on what yous too your partner do when you're happiest too closest.  We tend to forget that nosotros brand subtle changes inwards how nosotros approach situations from twenty-four threescore minutes current to day, calendar week to week.  Some of those changes Pb to positive outcomes--or at to the lowest degree avoid the negative ones.  By identifying what we're already doing that is working, nosotros do goals that non exclusively are doable but that are genuinely role of us.

5)  Emphasize changes that are meaningful - Yes, small, achievable goals operate best too consistency inwards implementing operate toward those goals is essential.  Typically, however, what drives us to operate on alter is an inspiring vision too a feel of important too purpose.  If my overarching destination is to make a trading rails tape that volition attract the uppercase of investors, that adds a stair out of significance to my daily operate toward goals.  Keeping such overarching goals visible is important, fifty-fifty every bit nosotros operate diligently on the details of performance.  That is why athletic coaches inspire every bit good every bit teach.  They focus their teams on exercise too drills--but they likewise remind them that a entitle lies ahead.  

No corking things were always accomplished inside people's comfort zones.  By definition, alter agency breaking from routine.  Perhaps the most of import alter nosotros tin brand is brand the challenging of our comfort zones a daily habit.  There is never stasis inwards life or inwards trading.  We utilisation it or nosotros lose it; nosotros extend our capacities or nosotros allow them to atrophy.  At its best, alter itself becomes a lifestyle.

Further Reading:  Two Proven Methods for Building Your Happiness
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Info!! Trading Psychology Challenges - 2: Perfectionism

In the Enhancing Trader Performance book, I position a powerful obstruction to developing successful trading strategies: perfectionism.  "Perfectionism clearly plays a business office inwards preventing us from cultivating superior strategies," I wrote.  "In a real of import sense, perfectionistic traders are non seeking to brand money.  They are trying to non lose money.  Their intolerance of loss keeps them moving from method to method inwards search of a certainty that markets cannot provide." (p.157).

The phrase hither is apt: *intolerance* of loss.  The perfectionist is non seeking self-improvement.  The perfectionist is intolerant of anything that falls curt of ideal.  This sets the phase for self-blame as well as frustration.  While it powerfulness await similar a shield of high standards that protects us, inwards fact that shield burdens us, weighing downward our performance.

A review of one's trading mag oft reveals when perfectionism is a problem.  Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 trader powerfulness lead hold identified a skillful idea, placed a merchandise at a skillful level, as well as taken profits at a target, only to run into the merchandise become farther inwards his or her direction.  The mag entry volition focus on what the trader *should* lead hold done (holding the merchandise longer) rather than what the trader did well.  The "should" is non grounded inwards whatever tested rule; that same trader volition hold out as self-blaming over a merchandise that is initially profitable but reverses when he or she holds for a farther target!  Such perfectionism is hindsight bias at its worst.  

Note how such perfectionism turns a winning merchandise into a psychological loss past times exclusively focusing on shortcomings.  It is non constructive, because it does non do concrete learning lessons.  It is frustration channeled as self-blame.  As such, it robs us of the fulfillment nosotros otherwise would experience subsequently a skillful merchandise as well as leaves us feeling diminished.  Over time, such self-blame takes a cost on our liberate energy as well as outlook, contributing to the work of burnout.

How many of your mag entries as well as how much of your review fourth dimension are spent on what you lot did wrong?  To what grade do you lot acquire from your successes as well as reinforce your best practices?  If you lot are parenting a immature child, you lot would role positive reinforcement, non merely punishment, to learn the right behaviors.  As a trader, you lot are ever a immature child, ever developing, ever learning.  You desire to hold out as constructive amongst yourself as you lot would hold out for a immature lady or boy you lot love.

Perfectionism wears people down.  Perfectionism tears people down.  We desire to channel frustration toward learning as well as improvement, non toward self-blame.  We desire to straight our anger toward our work patterns, non toward ourselves.  That is a real of import distinction.

So what tin compass the axe nosotros do almost perfectionism?  Three strategies stand upwards out:

1)  Restructuring Our Reviews:  By giving ourselves realistic written report cards, grading each expanse of our trading process, nosotros tin compass the axe readily position what we're doing good as well as what we're doing that needs improvement.  We desire to become frontward amongst positive goals--building on our successes--as good as remediation goals, correcting our weaknesses.  Every review should position strengths as well as improvements as well as should atomic number 82 to goals of continuing to do what is working.  Every review should too focus on constructive steps nosotros conception to accept to improve our shortcomings.  The focus of the review is on improvement, non blame.  We focus on getting better, non beingness perfect.

2)  Cognitive Strategies - The cognitive strategies described inwards cognitive journals--we let ourselves to stand upwards exterior our perfectionistic patterns.  In short, when nosotros adopt a cognitive perspective, nosotros plow rigid, negative thinking into the enemy.  That allows us to coach ourselves inwards an empowering way, non inwards a agency that demoralizes us.

3)  Behavioral Strategies - Very often, perfectionism is triggered past times frustration.  Of course of teaching it's frustrating to accept off a merchandise only to run into it become much farther inwards our direction.  That frustration shows upwards as physiological tension, which inwards plow cues the negative thought patterns.  One of the greatest insights I came to as a trader was the recognition that my pathetic trading was only state-dependent.  When inwards the fight-or-flight mode, I was much to a greater extent than probable to miss what was happening right inwards front end of me as well as impose my ain needs onto markets.  Behavioral strategies let us to delineate dorsum from trading screens as well as alter the dry soil we're in, becoming to a greater extent than calm as well as focused--and much to a greater extent than able to recruit corporation coping skills.

Sometimes negative, perfectionistic thinking is pervasive, occurring across life domains, non merely during trading.  If that is the case, it's worth consulting amongst a psychologist as well as developing a structured conception for changing those patterns.  It's too worth ruling out depression as an underlying problem, as the depressed dry soil tin compass the axe atomic number 82 to chronically negative thought patterns.  As I emphasized inwards the postal service on diagnosing our trading problems, it's ever a alert sign when patterns disrupting our trading are too disrupting other areas of life.  That's when nosotros desire to motion beyond coaching as well as acquire concerted professional person help for overlearned patterns.

We volition never hold out perfect as traders.  That's what keeps us ever-learning, ever-growing.  Our challenge is to role our shortcomings as inspirations, fueling continued improvement.

Further Reading:  How to Separate Frustration From Your Trading

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