We recently watched an old interview of Melinda Gates. At the end of the interview, Melinda was asked about her daily routine. She answered that the first thing she does every day is to meditate. She spends about an hour every day meditating about different issues in her life.
We then decided to read more about meditation and why it is important. To our surprise, a big part of the most successful people take time every morning to either meditate or read a book.
We have been practicing this concept for a while now and here are our findings: Meditation and Trading should go straight as one thing.
If you’re not already meditating, do yourself a favor: start doing it today, at least for a while. You might get a lot of benefit from it.
We have tried it ourselves, and have seen some benefits that we will now list.
» Related: Can a Daily Trading Routine Make your Trades more Efficient?
Table of Contents
#1 – It Improves your Focus
We tried our best to wake up at 5AM every day. We spend at least 30 minutes meditating or reading a book. After this, We spend a few hours reading the overnight news before We start trading.
One thing about meditation and trading is that it has helped us focus on the finer details of our trading day. It has helped us avoid losing concentration on different topics as We trade.
As mentioned above, We were not always that way, We was not a keen meditator. However, our trading performance has improved with more meditation.
To be clear, this does not mean that you have to wake up at 5AM. Instead, you can create your personal routine that works. For example, if you start trading at 11AM, you can plan to wake up even at 9AM.
#2 – Psychology of Trading
Trading is more of a psychological thing. Many excellent traders have lost money because of making decisions based on their emotions.
We was a victim of this a while back. We opened a trade and lost a substantial amount of money. After closing the trade, We decided to open a new trade in the opposite direction hoping the to recover the money. After a few hours, We had lost more money.
Damn revenge trading!
Well, this did not happen because We had not meditated. However, when we decided to open the second trade just to try to recover the first one, we let our emotions lead us without analyzing the market signals. And there are some emotions that can really kill your trading account.
However, we didn’t realize this right away, but the next morning in meditation after taking a look at our trading journal.
So don’t forget: meditation and psychology are important to gain good results in trading.
#3 – A Good Way to Move on
Losing money is never a good thing. In fact, lives have been lost because of this. In the 1970s, the father of famed investor and founder of Apollo Global Management committed suicide after losing a substantial amount of money.
Other investors and traders have lost a lot of money in the past as well after losing money. Though We have measures in place to ensure that We lose a small amount of money, the fact is that any loss is never good.
Meditating can help you move on after making such a loss. It can also help you have a positive attitude that everything will turn out right.
» Related: Start Trading Again After a Big Loss
#4 – Rediscover Yourself
Another important aspect of meditation is that it helps you rediscover yourself. Many people believe that they can be traders while in reality they are not destined to be traders.
For instance, if you have been losing your money on trades, chances are that you can be successful in other areas. Taking time to meditate can help you rediscover your real purpose in life.
Maybe you are destined to start a company (even a trading office, but without trade directly on the markets). Meditation will help you achieve this.
#5 – A Healthy Lifestyle
Studies have revealed the healthy benefits of meditation. A study by Sala Horowitz revealed that people who meditate live a healthier lifestyle than those who don’t. Another study by a group of researchers found the same thing.
As a trader, you want to live a healthy and happy lifestyle. By practicing meditation and taking time to exercise, it can help you live a healthier lifestyle and make more money.
External useful resources
- Discover all the benefits of meditation and trading on Finance Magnates
