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2014 was a year of many challenges. The markets for one were nothing like they were the previous year. As every well seasoned professional trader should know trading a mature market equires a very different skill set than trading a trending market in a wave one or a wave three in Elliott wave terms.
It is rather like being on holiday. Feeling good comes easy, it is natural. One feels supported by the sun, the beauty of one’s surroundings and the energy of the sea, the mountains, et al all contribute to the feel good factor. Life is easy…If only it would stay that way…
The above scenario is similar to trading waves one and waves three. No effort required. Just being present to opportunity and having the mental stamina in place to trade what one sees with knowledge and inner confidence.
And this was precisely my biggest lesson this year:
I stepped into my personal power in a way I had not done before.
Having many years of personal development under my belt in a bid to help me become a better trader and a better person, the two really go hand in glove and cannot be separated, my latest “aha moment” came in the face of great challenges:. The challenge wasn’t so much with my trading, but in developing and implementing a digital marketing campaign for my work.
In the past I would react, frown upon the cards fate had dealt me, unwittingly assuming the victim role to a degree before getting back in the saddle again and resume course.
Of course, I was not fully aware of the extent to which I was doing it. Most people are not and that is precisely why so many traders and investors do not make any money. They blame the wife, the kids, the weather, their own limitations, their trading platform, not to mention the news and poor advice of their brokers for their demise.
The reality is this: All of these reasonings are lies. They are decoys the conditioned mind has set up to stop you from stepping into your own personal power. You may understand what you re reading here, but are you integrating the deepest truth of these words?
Connecting in a very new way to my personal power has been well and truly my Eureka this year. It still feels fresh and exciting as often I simply do not recognise myself any more. Something big has shifted for me.
So, what am I talking about when I speak of personal power?
Personal power simply is this place where you are in your centre, in harmony with yourself and your environment without being fazed by the energies of the events around you. When you are in this place, you will do what is right for you. You will take the right trades and get out of the markets when it is right for you.
You will stay away from those things that sap your personal power. Fear, anxiety and stress fall away because you handle life’s challenges with a very different internal energy.
Personal power is a very personal thing.
My personal power is different from yours. It cannot be taught, because it is unique for every person. I can help you to discover your own personal power though and if you get this, establish a mental reference point for the feeling and the experience. As a result your trading and investing will improve because you are beginning to discover and connect to your own, unique personal power.
Those of you who are familiar with my work will know that I preach self reliance.
I preach the concepts of oneness versus separation. I talk much about aligning with the markets in order to take only those trades you feel comfortable with. When you are in harmony with yourself, you can’t help but be in harmony with the markets and life in general.
I am not saying that things will always go swimmingly. They won’t but you will spend less energy being flustered and more energy on seeping the opportunities around you.
The principles I am talking about are not unique. They are not personal either. They are universal law.
We have been conditioned away from being in touch with the universe to such a degree that separation has become accepted as the model by which the world operates. This is of course fundamentally untrue and is the one root cause from which all other problems arise. Last but not least your trading challenges.
Moving from the intellectual understanding of this truism into an ever deepening experience of the intrinsic truth of personal power is massively empowering. It is a step by step process aligning you more and more with the truth of all that exists.
Personal power is the only power worth pursuing, my friends.
It is not about money, it is not about being the biggest, the best, the most influential person or trader in the world. It is about harmony and directing energy in harmony. It is about discovering that sweet spot and staying in it when you trade, invest, negotiate a new contract, or whatever it may be. When you are in that place, life comes to you, instead of you chasing life. Again, this is nothing personal, but universal law.
I made huge progress in this area this year. If you get the meaning of what I am sharing in this article, you will be well on the way to make 2015 the most amazing year of your life.
My question is simple: Are you ready for this adventure?
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Mercedes Oestermann van Essen is an active trader, trading psychology coach and the author of “The Buddhist Trader” and other books on trading psychology. She holds webinars and bespoke trading psychology seminars for high net worth investors, and professional traders.
