There was an article in yesterdays London Sunday Times Sports section on the Formula 1 phenomena that is Lewis Hamilton.

For those who are not aware Lewis is the leader of this years Formula 1 racing championship. Perhaps nothing too amazing there until you realise that he is a complete rookie. He has only competed in 7 Formula 1 races however his results have been fantastic; a third place, four seconds and two victories - a trophy (and podium finish) for every race and a respectable 10 point lead.

The author (himself an ex F1 driver) makes a serious point about the mind management help he has received in his training and pays attention to the Mental Conditioning Coach that Lewis uses to help provide him the edge in his driving. (more…)

In this my last installment on Fear I will cover the final action block to success as a Trader. You should remember I said the first block was over-analysis which led to self-doubt which in turn leads onto:

Hesitation at the very moment when you need to pounce!

How many times has this happened to you? How many times have you sat there over-analysing a perfectly good set-up whilst listening to your inner voice creating self-doubt in your mind only for you to hesitate on pulling the trigger at the very crucial moment when all of your energy should be focused on following your plan?

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If you remember from my last entry I stated that there were 3 blocks to success. The first was Over - Analysis which leads onto the 2nd block:

Self-Doubt which is often experienced as Fear. Having become paralysed by over-analysis you then find yourself doubting your own analysis and your own ability. That internal voice keeps telling you:

• “Your last trade was a loser, so will this one be...”
• “You don’t know what you’re doing do you?”
• “You want to go long but the talking head on Bloomberg is saying traders should be short, surely he knows more than you?”

And a hundred other such self-defeating comments. (more…)

Carrying on from my last entry - as Traders, there are, I believe, 3 blocks to a Traders success.

The first one is: Over-Analysis. The old analysis paralysis syndrome.

• Do you find yourself looking at more and more charts trying to gain a better understanding?
• Do you find each of your charts is littered with dozens of indicators, moving averages and trendlines as you search for the perfect trade?
• Do you find yourself unable to pull the trigger until you have a 100% possibility of success?

(more…)

Fear is defined as ‘the anticipation of pain’, which is very often linked to a past outcome. As traders it can be the defining element between success and failure for an individual. We can have the most elegant and sophisticated of trading strategies but if we’re paralyzed by fear then we will amount to nothing!

• How many times have you ’sat on your hands’ and avoided pulling the trigger?
• How many times have you seen a fantastic set-up in the market only to ignore the opportunity because it wasn’t perfect?
• How many times have you convinced yourself that when you’re a better/more confident/ better capitalized trader then you’ll take those trades?

To be continued…