Practicing Focus....

[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!

[Kiwi]

I have found that one of the best things I can do is to repeatedly ask these questions:

What does the next signal have to look like & how will I take it?
What's the exit look like: what's the target zone and how will I trail stops?"

[TinGull]

Interesting, I'll certainly give that a try. I'm more so looking for things to perhaps practice outside of trading itself. Maybe things I can use in my regular life

Thanks Kiwi!

[MrPaul]

In geometrical optics, a focus, also called an image point, is the point where light rays originating from a point on the object converge [1]. Although the focus is conceptually a point, physically the focus has a spatial extent, called the blur circle. This non-ideal focusing may be caused by aberrations of the imaging optics. In the absence of significant aberrations, the smallest possible blur circle is the Airy disc, which is caused by diffraction from the optical system's aperture. Aberrations tend to get worse as the aperture diameter increases, while the Airy circle is smallest for large apertures.

But if you meant focusing then....

"Focusing" has been referred to as "a procedure for attending to, and being aware of, the body's 'knowing' of the various situations we live in." This way of describing Focusing can be misleading. It's perhaps more accurate to say that Focusing is what you are doing, any time you pay attention to the feel or quality of what you mean and enter into the murky, unclear "edge" of "all that", opening it up by the use of different kinds of questions or suggestions and describing what you find in words, images or actions.

Because we are interacting with a universe which is more intricate than our concepts, we have an implicit knowing "in the areas in which we interact", which is more than our concepts.

Focusing is not a technique, but a naturally occurring human process. When we are focusing, we are intending to establish an interaction between our rational understanding and our somatically rooted “knowing�.


See it's simple

[torero]

Here's how I stay focused and wait for my setup. Trading plan is fundamental in building a focusing point. In addition to reviewing the trading plan from time to time to keep my mind fresh of what I need to do, if I see a possible setup forming, I usually ask if it fits into my plan. Second, I also ask what the likelihood the setup will continue in the direction I have in mind for it (by seeing higher low/high for longs and lower low/high for shorts). If I think yes, then the next question where is the stop and where is the target, then I calculate the ratio to see if it's worth taking the trade, minimum at least 2:1 reward:risk, I prefer 3:1.

Ask these questions every time I think you see a setup, most of the time by the time I ask the second question (reward/risk factor), it won't qualify for me to take the trade, that's a good start because good setups only happen 2-4 times a day and then there are none in some days. Beyond 4, I'm not being picky enough with my setups.

[MrPaul]

btw the above post was a joke if no one gets it:p

[TinGull]

Wow..I just spent the last 10 minutes re-reading that post....and I thought rollover day was confusing!!!

[Kiwi]

If you want something outside of trading you might try

http://www.buddhanet.net/pdf_file/livngmed.pdf

[TinGull]

Thanks Kiwi!

[Soultrader]

I often use self hypnosis and try to clear my mind from any thought right before the trading session begins. It takes practice at first but once you are able to completely eliminate any thoughts and make your mind blank, it allows me to focus when thoughts re-enter my mind.