Practicing Focus....

[torero]

Of course, I see you as an expert. I just see someone who knows more than me . Back to anchoring, when is the moment to anchor the entire feeling (emotional state and attitude, etc), when the trade is taken or when the positive results are seen, that is anchor at the entry or anchor at the exit? Which is more important?

[email]

	Quote:	torero
	Of course, I see you as an expert. I just see someone who knows more than me . Back to anchoring, when is the moment to anchor the entire feeling (emotional state and attitude, etc), when the trade is taken or when the positive results are seen, that is anchor at the entry or anchor at the exit? Which is more important?

The best time to anchor is when you feel that it can not get any better. Another point is that you can also use anchors that have anything to do with trading, just a good past experience when your confidence was right up there.

Just one other small point about affermations; never use a negative in an affermation, example; "today I will not overtrade" or "I will not ...........
keep it posative.
cheers

[GCB]

I recall reading something where Jack Nicklaus said that focus was essential to a golfer but that no golfer including him could focus for four straight hours. He said after he hit a shot he would let his mind wander until he was approaching his ball and then he would begin focusing on the next shot and by the time he was standing over the ball he would be completely focused on the shot. After he hit it he'd let his mind wander and the whole process would start over.

I think trading is the same. You can't go through life with clenched teeth and you can trade that way either. You have to find opporunities to relax to conserve your energy for the next "shot."

[torero]

That's a very nice approach to focusing. The only problem is during the entire market hours, the trader has to be focused to look for setups, if not, he'd miss the opportunities and timing his entries properly. This is what makes trading difficult is that there is very little time to wander. It's why I stay focus only in the mornings (about 2-3 hrs). Else, I lose focus and start losing.

[Anonymous]

	Quote:	TinGull
	You have any tricks, sayings or affirmations you want to share, soul? I'm actually looking into using it. Right now, I'm working on Anchoring techniques and I've come up with a few ideas to get my attitude and mind in proper state before trading day begins.

Here's a couple from Mohan:

1. I totally understand that consistency is more important than being right. Having the desire to be right is for amateurs and making money consistently is what the real professionals do. I am striving to be a real pro everyday by focusing on what is proven to really work, and which produces steady profits while protecting me if a I am wrong.

2. As a trader I establish a straight mental and neurological path to continuous, perfectly executed and managed trades. Each trade is an education towards perfecting the trading art, releasing tension and achieving youth and vigor.

[milind_pol]

Hi all,

For those like soultrader who try meditation to improve focus, here is a link that you may like to try. http://yuyutsu.biz/

You need to go to music therapy section where you will find a lot of good tracks for different meditational outcomes.

Happy Meditating...
Milind

[email]

milind-pol,

That is a very nice website, thanks for sharing.

Oh and just a hello to all the great friends in traderslabratory.

Cheers,
email

[sds]

	Quote:	TinGull
	Hi there, Wondering how I could practice my focus? I see great things when I look at a chart as it's happening, but for whatever reason I'm not paying attention to a setup as it's happening as best as I'd like. I'm seeming to be looking for one particular setup, and all else is being blocked, while other great setups happen. Just curious what you folks do to practice your focus? THANKS!

Yoga and Pranayama (Breathing exercise).

Without breathe, you will not alive. Breathe controls us (If you are angry, anxious then respiration increases).

How about controlling breathe to control yourself. This is what Pranayama is which helps me a lot.

sds.

[Snowtruck]

I just wanted to add a couple of thoughts. During the trading day, when you get an urge to check a website or some other type of distraction, that is the moment when you should focus more on price action and setups. I found that if I ignore those things that take me away from trading at that moment, a really great setup appears instantly or something important occures.

I cannot express enough how important meditation and just being mindful of your breathing during the trading day.

[LiggerPig]

	Quote:	Snowtruck
	I just wanted to add a couple of thoughts. During the trading day, when you get an urge to check a website or some other type of distraction, that is the moment when you should focus more on price action and setups. I found that if I ignore those things that take me away from trading at that moment, a really great setup appears instantly or something important occures. I cannot express enough how important meditation and just being mindful of your breathing during the trading day.

Hi Snowtruck and welcome to TL. You make a very good observation in your first post here. I have noticed in chatrooms that traders will comment on how boring a market is, how they're going to find something else to do, etc. Soon afterwards the market will move, they miss the setup which was unfolding only to return later to curse the market(s).

I can't comment on meditation or breathing techniques as I prefer to take breaks when I feel I need them. I don't worry too much about missing trades as there's always going to be another come along.

My focus tends to be on market action rather than myself. I focus on price by considering the market to be a game played between bulls and bears. In my journal I note price levels each side needs to get the upperhand.
My preparation includes compiling support and resistance levels which become a playing field for the game. By continually trying to assess what each side needs to achieve pricewise my focus is to anticipate rather than chase the action.
The nearest price targets for each side change often, adjusting to the game, unless the market becomes choppy or rangebound when I can then simply choose areas where one side will regain the upperhand.
Risk is managed by choosing to side with bulls or bears in only those parts of the playing field where they have space to run with the ball.
Of course I'm also using sentiment, volume and moving averages to assess which side is likely to dominate but for keeping focus I'm running gameplans for each side.

Going back to traders being distracted, I find I have the opposite problem - of becoming immersed. I've come to recognise when I'm being drawn in to a small area of the playing field, usually by the reward to risk setups. These are the times when I'm just as vulnerable to those checking other websites, etc.
This is often the best time to zoom out and look at the playing field from afar, daily, hourly charts instead of 15min and so on.

An example of my method of focus from my journal today;

	Quote:
	closed HALF ES long at 1227.75 for 1.5 , sentiment is getting a little bullish again, bears are becoming more successful at rejecting 1232. 1:17pm - ES 1227.75 , bulls trying to hold here? 1228/1225 are the most obvious areas of support 1:26pm - ES 1223 , bulls unable to hold the important 1225 1:32pm - ES 1225.5 , 1225 , testing 1225 from below could be bearish? (20/15 still rising below price though) 1:34pm - ES 1225.5 , falling 200/15 above at 1234.75, i.e. next resistance for bulls. 1:37pm - ES 1224 , when we take out 1220 on the downside then we increase the odds greatly over a rollover 1:39pm - ES 1224 , bulls holding well even if they are the wrong side of 1225 1:47pm - ES 1225 , if sentiment becomes more bearish again I may start looking for longs against this down move! 2:07pm - ES 1224 , hopefully, this market is going to move one way or another shortly? I think sentiment is too bullish for longs yet. I suspect we need to test 1220 at least. 2:24pm - ES 1225.5 , we've been range bound for a while now, though the range has been wider than depicted in my notes, we keep coming back to this 1225 area. Quite clearly, 1225 has become a line in the sand for many today. Bulls are increasingly trying to use it as support this afternoon.

The notes are often contradictory as I add views from different perspectives and some thoughts turn out to be completely wrong but as you can see from the prices, I try to keep myself busy with the game even when the market isn't making any real progress.