Janice Dorn, MD, PhD
Neuropsychological Trading Coach
Janice Dorn, M.D., Ph.D., has been a full-time futures trader since 1994. Doctor Janice holds an M.D. in psychiatry and is board-certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in general psychiatry and addiction psychiatry. She holds a Ph.D. in brain anatomy. A graduate of Coach University, she is a pioneer market psychiatrist and financial neurobehaviorist. Doctor Janice has written over 500 articles on the financial markets and coached over 600 traders worldwide. She is the Global Risk Strategist for Ingenieux Wealth Management Group, Sydney, Australia.
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Everything is in motion. Everything flows. Everything is vibrating...Wayne Dyer
I got home from the grocery store the other day and decided to write a Valentine's Day Trading Wisdom. How could I not be inspired by the all the excitement, with hordes of people roaming around shelves of gorgeous red and pink flowers, candy hearts, talking stuffed toys and "I Love You" balloons?
So I ran home, started to write, got out the first four letters of the word "flower" and stopped. Why would I write to traders and investors about Valentine's Day when I had just stumbled upon flow? The more I thought about it, the more I realized that it really is a Trading Wisdom about love and happiness and what it feels like to be so immersed in something that time just passes imperceptibly. Traders have told me about this feeling of being "one" with the markets. Lovers have told me about how they feel when they are with the one they love. It is now becoming apparent that, as we learn more about the neurobiological underpinnings of the state of flow, we will find neurochemical parallels between the state of flow in love and in trading.
And there is one more thing that is kind of cute about flow. The psychologist best known for describing the flow state is Dr. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. For those of you who just look at that name and go "Say what?" here is the way it is pronounced: ME-high CHICK-sent-me-high-ee. Now, if that isn't a tribute to Valentines Day, I don't know what is!
Here is an exercise to help you understand the nature of the flow state:
Write or type your response to the following:
Think of a time when you were totally involved in what you were doing. This is a time when you felt powerful, strong, positive and not worried about yourself (not self-conscious) or about failing. Think about this situation and describe it in as much detail as possible. Write down where it happened, who you were with, what led up to the situation, and how it started. As you do this exercise, try to use as many of your senses (sight, sound, touch, smell) as possible. Write down everything about this experience, including how you felt when it was over.
You may have experienced this type of involvement in activity many times, never or only once. This experience could have occurred anywhere at any time. Time and place are not important, rather the actual experience is. The more clearly and in detail you can recall this experience, the easier it will be for you to both train your brain to recall them again and to set the stage for repetition of this flow experience.
From Csikszentmihalyi's original description of the flow state have sprung offshoots into almost every human activity possible. New terms or descriptions of his original have appeared in relationship to sports, acting, music, management, religion, spirituality, trading, education, government and almost every activity of life. Although the descriptions change, the concept is that of Dr. "Chicks Sent Me High!" A ton of people have piggy-backed this idea, so, if imitation is the greatest form of flattery, "Dr. Chicks" is flowing in an ocean of it.
Now that you have written down your experience, look at the following fundamental characteristics of the flow state and see if you can relate that experience to any of them. Once you have done that, it should be relatively easy for you to repeat the state, or, at least, to know what attaining it entails.
The fundamentals of flow are as follows:
(1) Skills and challenge are in balance. It is not enough for skills to equal challenge; rather, both of these factors must be pushing you forward, almost like extending you to reach to a new level.
(2) Goals are crystal-clear.
(3) Action merges with awareness. This means that you are "one" with whatever you are doing. Some describe this as mind/body fusion.
(4) There is an almost total sense of control. This is more than being in control—it is knowing that you can be in control if you just try harder and focus. You trust your skills, and you absolutely perceive the task as something you can and will do.
(5) Concentration is as sharp and focused as a laser beam.
(6) There is no self-consciousness—i.e., the ego is transcended. Worry and negative thought are absent completely.
(7) You experience unambiguous feedback that enables you to remain connected and in control.
(8) Time is transformed.
(9) Autotelism occurs. This is among the most interesting aspects of flow, in that the experience itself is intrinsically rewarding. This means that you chose to do this activity just for the sake of doing it. It feels wonderful and you want to do it over and over again.
So, there you have the essence of flow, in a very brief synopsis.
Any of you who have experienced this state, especially during the act of trading, please let me hear the details. Sounds like fun, doesn't it? I assure you, it is pure bliss when it occurs!
Flow with whatever is happening and let your mind be free. Stay centered by accepting whatever you are doing. This is the ultimate...Chuang Tzu
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