Jamie stared at her screen, it was like she had been in a bad dream and had just awakened to find that it was not a dream at all. She couldn't believe it. She had been doing so well...and for weeks now. But there it was in front of her eyes; one of her largest losses ever. In fact, she really couldn't remember when she had lost so much money in a trade. She felt sick to her stomach, her head ached, and she was shaking. It all began so well this morning. She went through her morning routine to get ready for trading by checking the overnight markets, she checked the news, she checked her watch-lists, and then planned her trades. She looked at the charts she was going to use, identified pivots, supply/demand levels and pinpointed high-probability entries and exits. All appeared to be in order and then it happened - her first trade went against her. Her plan seemed as though it was airtight, how could she have been so wrong? As the day went on, it was more of the same. Trade after trade...after a while, she seemed to be possessed, as if she were in a fog, a bad dream. It didn't matter that she had rules and limits that she had set, she just kept entering and entering with violation after violation. At one point, she remembered looking at a long green candle and thinking, "...this could save my day." It didn't matter that a small voice inside was shouting, although barely audible to her, saying, "...don't chase that trade!" It was too late though, she was caught in a spiral of out-of-control trading…and she knew it, but couldn't stop herself. She even realized as she placed the oversized position on and decided not to put a stop in that she was setting herself up for disaster; but it didn't matter, she was barreling forward, full steam ahead going straight for a brick wall. But just maybe, she hoped, the wall would open up, just maybe this price action would go her way and she would win. The prospects of this gamble had intoxicated her thinking as her eyes had become wild with anticipation. But then the bucket of cold water hit her full in the face as the price action hit a significant resistance level and began to plummet. It fell softly at first, then screamed straight down in a sea of red. It dropped, and dropped and dropped, as her account hemorrhaged from the deep gash that this ill-conceived trade had brought upon her. And, the bad part of it was that she couldn't figure out why it happened...but the worst part of it was that this was not the first time. How could she do so well and then in one fell swoop, erase weeks of disciplined trading. She didn't know what to do because she didn't understand why it was happening. She desperately wanted to change but was unwilling or unable to see how.

Jamie, like so many traders, was caught in a spiral of issues that seemed insurmountable. You can't change what you can't face and you can't face what you don't know. You must gain awareness of your unconscious limiting beliefs that drive unconscious conversations, which motivate behavior that is not in the interest of your highest and best trader. The fact of the matter is that you are only aware of a small part of what is going on in your mind. The largest part of your thinking is out of your awareness, or unconscious. See, the mind is like an iceberg, the tip is the only part that can be seen above the water line and comparatively speaking, it is a very small part of the whole. The rest of the iceberg is huge and it is below the water line. Your consciousness is very similar. Your conscious thoughts are but a small portion of the mind, the overarching part of us that controls all of our involuntary behavior like breathing, heartbeats, cell function, growth, immune system, etc., is sub-consciousness, totally out of your awareness and so is much of your thinking and beliefs. That is how it's possible to have unconscious conversations with yourself that are driven by unconscious limiting beliefs. These limiting beliefs, for example, I'm not good enough or I don't deserve to win, drive unconscious conversations for example, "...I shouldn't enter this trade – but I want to because it might go in my direction – and I'll make money – and I'll be right – and I'll feel good – and I'll make money." You've got to root out the limiting beliefs that drive the unconscious conversations by becoming aware of them; that is, by self-reflection and introspection and slowly pulling back the layers of the proverbial onion of our consciousness, level by level.

One of the processes that can help is called the Three "D" Process. The first D is for Discovery. After you have identified an issue, like chasing trades for example, you can ask yourself: a) What am I feeling? When this issue happens, what am I telling myself? b) What am I believing to feel this way? After you have identified an answer, don't stop there, keep asking and pulling back layers.

The next D is for Decide. Once you have the information about your internal thoughts, emotions and beliefs that are driving behaviors and in turn creating results that you don't want, you'll want to analyze and decide on tools that could be instrumental in helping you to overcome and resolve these issues. For instance, there are many reprogramming tools available to you like hypnosis, changing beliefs (a neuro-linguistic-programming tool), and emotional Freedom Technique (a tool that can help you to lower, and in most cases, neutralize emotional tension). All of these tools and the people who teach them can be found on the Internet or in your bookstore.

The last D is for Design. Most people live by default; that is, they just allow their thinking and therefore, their doing to just happen. Also, when things happen in their environment, they react automatically, which is behavior that is driven by unconscious conversations and beliefs. It is much more powerful to live and trade by design. To identify what you want, and in this instance, we are talking about change and addressing issues, then to design your response by looking at the tools you have available to you and putting together a strategy of how you are going to use them in order to effectively resolve the issues and turn your trading and your life around.

In Mastering the Mental Game we use this process along with many tools, techniques and concepts that are designed to support you in finding and keeping your "A" Game. Stop trading and living by default; take control of your trading by becoming more aware of your limiting beliefs and unconscious conversations. Additionally, the Extended Learning Track (XLT) - Mastering the Mental game class is here to support you in holding yourself accountable and being deliberate with regard to moving proactively in your trading. Ask your Online Trading Academy Education Counselor for more information.