What do traders and meditators have in common?
We trade to make money, which sounds very materialistic. The financial world appears to be based on numbers, a fact-based science in which the rules are set. 1 is always 1, there is no debating about it. Many attend universities to become financial experts, learn the nitty-gritty of charting, indicators, candle sticks, volume and so on. Market analysts speak in dry language, Wall Street players wear suits and stare at their monitors day in and day out.
We meditate for very different reasons - to grow in spiritual practice. There are no set rules by which the number of hours one practices translates directly to the amount of stress reduction and increase of happiness in one's life. There are no meditation institutions graduating from which guarantees a diploma and a career path. Meditators wear loose pants and keep their eyes closed. The world does not see them as hard-working members of society adding value to the community.
Where is the connection between these two very different groups of people?
If you've ever tried trading the markets, especially cryptocurrency markets, you've seen your holdings rise in value a few folds and you probably have seen them crash down in a very short period of time. Remember how it felt? The answer is most likely - strong emotions, self-doubt, fear, anxiety and uncertainty. The financial world is moved by emotion. We panic sell, we FOMO in, we collectively decide what is something worth. Each participant contributing his or her own emotionally charged view of the market. As such markets, like anything else in this world, move in cycles, following the fundamental laws of nature, such as Fibonacci ratios. And lotus petals reflect the same law of nature as market cycles do.
It is said that over 90% of traders lose money in the market. How then do they differ from the minority who are making fortunes? Is it their charting skills, their superior knowledge of the fundamentals, pure luck or insider knowledge? To answer this question we'd have to examine the mechanism by which one decides to buy or to sell at a particular moment. We can use our minds to analyze all we want, but remember the feeling you have before pressing the buy/sell button. We are never certain, we can only make our best guess and trust ourselves, trust the feeling.
From this perspective meditation is not much different from trading. Self-trust is essential in both. Self-knowledge is the outcome of both. In trading you see your deepest fears being exposed. In meditation fears come straight up to the surface of the mind. The whole process of meditation entails seeing your fears for what they truly are, to the point where you see their basic emptiness, until the bubble pops and there is nothing left. One of the side-effects of meditation is emotional maturity, dissolution of attachments and limitations. And these are exactly the skills a successful trader has. He doesn't get attached to his holdings, he doesn't panic, he is not swayed by temporary ups and downs. He sees the bigger picture and he trusts himself. He rides the waves instead of being crushed by the swells.
Emotions drive the prices.
Do yourself and your trading account a favor and learn which emotions drive your decisions. Learn to see which fears are holding you back. Learn who you are. Meditate! And happy trading!
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