Trading is filled with stress and even a certain amount of woe. There is money at stake. Money is one of those things that you cant live without. Losing too much of it can seriously impact your life, your livelihood, and even in some cases, your entire financial future. Money is a necessity in this life that absolutely cant be ignored. So there are times when things really can get a little sticky when the stress hits a level of intolerance. However, worry on your own time.



Dont bring it to the next trade or enter it into your withdrawal. Take it somewhere else (preferable not home to the family) where you can blow off some steam and recollect your ability to think clearly. For as much information as there is out there on being objective, there is something to be said for taking your stress to the racquetball court or out on your daily jog or make it part of your daily laps in the ocean. Whatever it is that you do to blow off your stress, that is where your worry belongs. Blow it out there, change your perspective, and your home and trading life will maintain a strong level of balance and ease.

What about you non-athletic types? Good point. Some of us can get involved in a sport and really hammer it out and deal with our worries. Those who arent interested in being physically engaged with their worries and their stress wont find any interest in taking up kickboxing. For those who choose to deal with their stress in other ways, try placing it on your calendar.

If you write in an hour a day for stress relief, whether that means writing it out, meditation and yoga, or just sitting around for an hour thinking about it and giving it the attention it needs so you can move forward you have a dedicated time frame to deal with your worries and have a new management tool for coping with some of the pressures that come along with trading.

If you bother to write it on your calendar then it would probably work better if you used that time for what you scheduled it for. It is possible that you might give it less credibility because we dont usually feel productive during that hour. So maybe there might be an opportunity to chat with a trading guru or you feel obligated to go over some new found information.

Using your hour creates a mind frame that is incredibly productive, especially during times of elevated stress. That hour is yours and it should remain precious no matter what else is going on. This is the hour that will keep it out of your trading day tomorrow. This is the hour that will allow you freedom from worry later on. This is the hour that you might just find a new thought that will lead to a fabulous answer.

Some traders find that when they schedule their own time aside to deal with the worry, by the time they actually get there, they have already changed their perspective and it only takes a few minutes for them to get motivated and rework their plan to get back on top. Some people find that they need an entire hour just to stop crying. However you deal with worry, angst, or disappointment, scheduling a time to do that every day helps keep you a healthier trader.