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Need to concentrate but your brain keeps wandering?

This post is written by Hao Sun of Trade With Precision. Hao Sun is a trading mentor and active contributor to the Precision Perspectives video newsletter and group mentoring sessions. Hao holds a bachelor's degree in economics and a master's degree in financial engineering. In addition, Hao also holds a level three Bloomberg product certificate in foreign exchange, fixed income and equities.

Have you ever felt the need to concentrate and get something done but your brain insists on wandering everywhere else? Or maybe you are struggling to be consistent because your mind refuses to focus on just one strategy, and instead you just end up confused because there seems to be an infinite number of ways to look at the same thing! If this rings true, perhaps you need to try 20 minutes of meditation every morning to calm your overactive mind. Here’s how meditation can help you master the art of trading.

Meditation is relaxing and refreshing

There are often many things going on simultaneously in the world of trading. As traders, not only do we have to stay on top of our personal lives, but also on top of trends and trading risk as well. Being bogged down by mundane tasks only tires you out and it is always harder to perform when you are tired. In order to learn new skills and scan for trading opportunities, a trader needs to be energized and stay mentally sharp. It is much harder to trade when you are distracted and fatigued. Meditating for a short while after you wake up allows you to set your intention for the day. Visualise what it is that you want to achieve and imagine going through each task methodically. Knowing exactly what you need to do and how to do it moves your mind from the planning phase to the processing phase. You will feel more relaxed and refreshed when you aren’t going back and forth in circles and not getting anything done!A young woman practicing yoga outside in nature

Meditation teaches you to keep things simple

Humans have a talent for overcomplicating things. Despite knowing simple, easy to follow trading strategies, it is not uncommon for newbie traders to overthink the technical elements within each strategy! Although everyone is different, the reason we overthink things is strangely similar. When you are insecure in your ability to trade, there is a desire to meet the challenge head on. This motivates us to work harder, but sometimes taking a fine comb to broad concepts can backfire. Trying to take in too much detail at once makes the trading process harder than it actually is, and your results may suffer because over-analysing a chart causes you to see opportunities that aren’t really there. Meditation helps you let go of your insecurities and accept things that you cannot change. It also helps you recognise what is essential and what isn’t. Keeping things simple will improve your trading and reduce your anxiety. This ultimately increases your confidence as time goes by.

Meditation helps you to focus

Trading is a challenging endeavor and it takes time to completely master the art of trading. Some traders have found it helpful to break the trading game down into parts e.g. trends and candlesticks, in order to learn one part thoroughly before progressing to the next. Focus is key and as a particular part is studied, nuances in applying the skills specific to that part can be discussed in detail. Complete immersion without jumping from one area to another shortens the time required for mastery, but sometimes boredom can creep in. In order to have strong focus, a trader needs to learn how to switch their brain on and off. Regular meditation trains you to do so by channeling your thoughts and energy towards a particular area for a specific length of time. Try meditating for a little longer each session, perhaps increasing in 5 minute intervals to a maximum of 20 minutes every morning. Focus is simply a means of flexing your mental muscles and showing mental fortitude. Train regularly and you’ll see results!Safe and happy trading everyone!sumbing-copy