The first thing to do when looking for a trading coach is to eliminate the trading coaches that are less likely to be helpful.
The first thing to be aware of is the language that the trading coach uses. Notice if these words are in their written materials or come up in a conversation with them.
In this model our job is for the rational part of our brain to discipline the animal part of our brain. Simply by setting up the problem in this way we lose rapport with all the parts of ourselves. As a result we end up fighting parts of ourselves that are attached to our very survival. This results in a tension that becomes stabilized in a way that we are unable to create the behaviors that really benefit us.
So if these characteristics are less likely to be helpful for us in a coach what are the characteristics that we will want to see?
Over the years I have found that coaches that have a background in Neural Linguistic Programming or NLP, tend to have a model of behavioral change that moves us towards rapport with ourselves. Does the coach recognize that our human brains have many functions and that our job is to become aware of those functions, accept those functions, and to work with those functions in a positive way? Does the coach support the trader in ways that our current state naturally unfolds into a new desired state? If so I believe that this model will produce better results than the two story model of human behavior.
The second thing I look for in an excellent trading coach is their ability to understand repeated behaviors that no longer services traders in terms of neurological functions. Once we understand that repeated behaviors are a result of well used neural connections we can then start solving the problems by an intentional method of creating new neural connections that work better in any given situation.
This also has the advantage of removing blame and shame and the resulting guilt and self flagellation from our reactions to behaviors that no longer service. We can now see these behaviors simply as anachronistic neural connections that can be intentionally changed. When we look at our behaviors from this point of view it gives us new power and new confidence to make the behavioral changes that meet our goals.
So, avoid trading coaches who want you to discipline yourself and find coaches that support a growing awareness and acceptance of all the parts of yourself in your quest for consistently profitable trading behaviors.
The first thing to be aware of is the language that the trading coach uses. Notice if these words are in their written materials or come up in a conversation with them.
- Discipline
- Motivation
- Should
- Profit per day
- Suppress
- Eliminate emotion
- Control behavior
- Be rational
In this model our job is for the rational part of our brain to discipline the animal part of our brain. Simply by setting up the problem in this way we lose rapport with all the parts of ourselves. As a result we end up fighting parts of ourselves that are attached to our very survival. This results in a tension that becomes stabilized in a way that we are unable to create the behaviors that really benefit us.
So if these characteristics are less likely to be helpful for us in a coach what are the characteristics that we will want to see?
Over the years I have found that coaches that have a background in Neural Linguistic Programming or NLP, tend to have a model of behavioral change that moves us towards rapport with ourselves. Does the coach recognize that our human brains have many functions and that our job is to become aware of those functions, accept those functions, and to work with those functions in a positive way? Does the coach support the trader in ways that our current state naturally unfolds into a new desired state? If so I believe that this model will produce better results than the two story model of human behavior.
The second thing I look for in an excellent trading coach is their ability to understand repeated behaviors that no longer services traders in terms of neurological functions. Once we understand that repeated behaviors are a result of well used neural connections we can then start solving the problems by an intentional method of creating new neural connections that work better in any given situation.
This also has the advantage of removing blame and shame and the resulting guilt and self flagellation from our reactions to behaviors that no longer service. We can now see these behaviors simply as anachronistic neural connections that can be intentionally changed. When we look at our behaviors from this point of view it gives us new power and new confidence to make the behavioral changes that meet our goals.
So, avoid trading coaches who want you to discipline yourself and find coaches that support a growing awareness and acceptance of all the parts of yourself in your quest for consistently profitable trading behaviors.