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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Do you have the patience to wait until the mud settles and the water is clear? Can you remain unmoving until the right action arises by itself?...Lao Tzu
One of the fables of Aesop tells the story of a farmer who came into possession of a goose that laid golden eggs. The story appears in many versions, but the ending is the same. The farmer became impatient and greedy because the goose was not laying enough golden eggs. Unable to wait any longer for the golden eggs, the farmer killed the goose to get all of the gold at once. To his anger, there was no gold inside the goose.
How do you think the farmer felt when he realized that he had killed the goose? How many times have you felt disappointed and even physically ill when you acted in an impatient manner because you wanted something or someone totally and completely and could not wait?
We live in a world where technology and the speed of information transfer are accelerating exponentially. With the click of a mouse, we can transmit information and data instantly to millions of people. Our email boxes are overflowing with messages that promise instant riches, quick fixes, management in a minute, sudden beauty makeovers, magical cures for every known mental or physical affliction, a four-hour work week, and the latest and greatest scheme to make money in the markets.
Flashing lights, pop-up ads, moving avatars, sound effects, subliminal messages, and all manner of sophisticated marketing and advertising techniques hit at us constantly. Our brains are on so much overload from the terabytes of information we receive that there is no way to process this in a rational (new brain) manner. Instead, bombarded with information, our brain defaults from the rational, more developed areas into the primitive (rat brain) areas. It has to do this because the rational (new) brain does not have time to sort out everything in order to make decisions quickly enough. We are conditioned and habituated to believe that we have to act immediately or we will be missing out on something. The new brain, which is logical and processes slowly, can’t do this, so the task goes to the old brain. The old brain is emotional and makes decisions almost instantly.
Can you see now why we are such emotionally driven creatures? There is too much information, and we sense that time is passing us by, so we believe that we absolutely have to do something—buy, sell, act, react, speak or move—right now. If we do not, it will be too late, and we will miss out on everything that is going on. This is the essence of the thesis put forth on www.trending123.com in the May 2005 article titled “Your Rat Brain Is Out to Get You.” If there is one thing to learn about trading and life, it is this: In the face of multiple conflicting messages that bombard you on a daily basis, the logical, rational brain will always want to default to the rat brain, because the rat brain makes rapid decisions based entirely on emotion.
What is the cure for rat brain-itis? The first thing to do is to become completely and totally aware of yourself and the way you are reacting to what is coming at you each moment. Try to step back from it and put it into perspective. What would happen if you didn’t act immediately? What consequences can you envision if you do or don’t do something? Are you acting from a dopamine-driven, emotional rat brain, or are you allowing yourself the time and space to think and add rationality to the equation? Is this or anything that comes to you worth anger or resentment? What is that anger and resentment doing to you and to others with whom you are connected? What is the point of it, and what is the hurry?
Everything you think, do, feel or say starts with you and ends with you. If you are unable to step back and reflect on the possible consequences of doing or not doing something, you will find that you are living a life of chaos and confusion. There will be multiple drawdowns of every imaginable type, including financial, psychological and spiritual. What would happen if you took one or two situations every day and just practiced conscious and patient waiting? How would your life change? What would that feel like?
It is said that patience is the antidote to anger, frustration and aggression. Patience is the compassion we have for the distance between the person we are now and the person we know we can become. The first place to practice patient waiting is with yourself. Set your goals and then plan to achieve them in ways that do not dissipate your energies and lead to a life of chaotic striving. Be gentle and kind to yourself, and this will extend outward to others. Remove yourself from wanting it all and wanting it now, as that is a recipe for the vicious cycle of failure, frustration and more impatience. Life and trading are journeys to be traveled with conscious intention. Make yourself a richer and better person one step at a time, remembering that you get what you give to yourself. Practice sitting, breathing and waiting for the right moment to do the right thing. Most of all, lighten up and enjoy the trip, since we may never pass this way again.
Nothing is created suddenly, any more than a bunch of grapes or a fig. If you tell me that you desire a fig, I answer you that there must be time. Let it first blossom, then bear fruit, then ripen...Epictetus
Until Next Time,
Good Trading and Brain On!
Janice Dorn, M.D., Ph.D.
janice@thetradingdoctor.com
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