HypnoTrading a practical guide to using hypnosis and NLP to improve your trading performance

HypnoTrading A practical guide to using hypnosis and NLP to improve your trading performance Catherine Stott BSc, DHP, Clinical Hypnotherapist HARRIMAN HOUSE LTD 18 College Street Petersfield Hampshire GU31 4AD GREAT BRITAIN Tel: +44 (0)1730 233870 Email: enquiries@harriman-house.com Website: www.harriman-house.com First published in Great Britain in 2016 Copyright © Catherine Stott The right of Catherine Stott to be identified as the author has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Design and Patents Act 1988 Print ISBN: 978-0-85719-503-6 eBook ISBN: 978-0-85719-504-3 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A CIP catalogue record for this book can be obtained from the British Library All rights reserved; no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior written permission of the Publisher This book may not be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise disposed of by way of trade in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published without the prior written consent of the Publisher Whilst every effort has been made to ensure that information in this book is accurate, no liability can be accepted for any loss incurred in any way whatsoever by any person relying solely on the information contained herein No responsibility for loss occasioned to any person or corporate body acting or refraining to act as a result of reading material in this book can be accepted by the Publisher, by the Author, or by the employers of the Author CONTENTS About the author Preface Introduction Part One An Introduction to Therapeutic Techniques Chapter One Hypnosis, Psychotherapy and the Trader Part Two Trading Challenges And How To Deal With Them Chapter Chapter Chapter Chapter Chapter Chapter Two Common Client Issues Three Understanding Your Trading Challenges Four Coping With Losing Trades Five Stress and Anxiety Six Negative Self-Talk Seven The Role of Fear Part Three Personal Development Chapter Eight Visualisation – Aiming for Success Chapter Nine Affirmations Chapter Ten Modelling Success Chapter Eleven Boosting Confidence and Motivation Chapter Twelve Mental Preparation and Discipline Chapter Thirteen Your Future Chapter Fourteen Finding a Suitable Hypnotherapist HypnoTrading courses ABOUT THE AUTHOR Catherine Stott studied at the University of Reading, where she obtained a degree in Psychology She then went to work as a human factors psychologist at a science and technology company Her focus was predominantly on training and designing training systems for human use Following this she trained as a Clinical Hypnotherapist at the Royal Berkshire College of Clinical Hypnosis (RBCCH), obtaining a Diploma in Hypnotherapy and Psychotherapy Catherine is fully trained in hypnotherapy, suggestion therapy, hypnoanalysis, psychotherapy, Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), and Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) She is a Licentiate of the Association of Professional Hypnosis and Psychotherapy (APHP), a member of the National Council of Hypnotherapy (NCH) and one of the first hypnotherapists in the UK to become registered with the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (CHNC) In addition to this she is also a member of the British Psychological Society Catherine first began working with traders in 2010 and has developed an in-depth knowledge of trading psychology as well as how hypnotherapy, NLP and EFT can help traders with the challenges they face PREFACE What this book covers Trading is a minefield of psychological and emotional challenges that are often underestimated It is usually only once you have started trading that you realise how mentally and emotionally involved you become and notice the complex relationship that develops between the trader and the trade This book provides you with a set of tools to help you deal with some of the common psychological issues in trading You will be introduced to hypnotherapy, neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) and Havening as three key therapies that can help you change your mindset and how you cope with the challenges of trading and the trading environment Specifically, this book covers four main overarching challenges that traders face: Coping with losing trades Stress and anxiety Negative self-talk The role of fear It also looks at areas for self-development: Using visualisation for success How to write affirmations Modelling success Boosting motivation and confidence Mental preparation and discipline Building your future Who this book is for This book is for all traders who want to change how they trade and improve their success Whether you are a novice trader who wants to trade well from the start or an experienced trader who wants to tweak your self-belief or motivation, this book is for you It will be useful for traders who want to: Improve their trading consistency Stick to their trading plan Overcome fear Learn how to deal with losing money Take the leap from part-time trader to full-time trader Trade with a calm and positive mindset Have better mental preparation for trading Reduce how much they lose when trading Have better decision-making skills How this book is structured This book is broken down into three sections The first section will introduce you to three types of therapy: hypnotherapy, NLP and Havening You will learn the basic concepts and theories behind each and the basic steps needed for self-hypnosis The second section outlines common trading issues and then moves on to cover in depth four key areas of challenge for traders These are: coping with losing trades, stress and anxiety, negative self-talk and fear The final section contains more general self-help discussion Specifically, it covers using visualisation, how to write affirmations, building confidence and motivation, modelling success, mental preparation and discipline The book concludes with advice on how to choose a hypnotherapist should you want more help Within each chapter, you will find a number of activities and techniques that encompass hypnotherapy, NLP or Havening These are designed to help you address the challenges that have been identified You will be guided through each technique step by step so that you can practise it and use it correctly The techniques are designed to provide you with a toolkit of psychotherapeutic approaches that you can use as often as required to help you create the changes you want You will find that some suit you more than others and you will learn how to adapt the techniques outlined to address a variety of areas, both within and outside of trading How to use this book To make the best use of the book, firstly read through each chapter and each activity before you start Make sure you give yourself plenty of time There is no need to rush and, although it will be tempting to move straight to the chapters that you think apply to you the most, work through each one in turn You can repeat each activity and technique as often as you want or need to Once you have completed all the activities you can then dip into the book in the future, using the relevant techniques when needed Once you are familiar with the book and the activities, you’ll be able to bookmark those that you want to return to so you can practise and use them as often as you need to Within each chapter, you will see the following: Text in italics indicates an activity where you should make notes Perhaps use a notepad specifically for the work you complete in this book; it will help you to keep all of your notes in one place TIPS! Specific tips are displayed in bold Techniques Practical techniques are displayed in boxes They are written in a straightforward, step-by-step manner INTRODUCTION Y ou’ve picked up this book and you are flicking through it Clearly, you think you need some help breaking down some of the psychological challenges of trading Do you lack discipline? Are you annoyed at yourself for letting fear get in the way? Perhaps you have a great trading strategy but for whatever reason you don’t follow it Perhaps you can’t stop yourself from exiting trades too early and you experience both elation that you have made a profit, and frustration you didn’t stay in as long as you intended and missed out If you have these problems when trading then HypnoTrading can help you HypnoTrading is not your typical trading psychology textbook It goes a step further than describing problems – it guides you step-by-step through a number of self-help solutions You will discover the power of hypnosis and how to use self-hypnosis with neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) and Havening, a modern psycho-sensory technique, to master your trading issues, help you make better trading decisions, perform in a calm and consistent manner, and go on to improve your trading life I have been working with traders since 2010, when I was first approached by a trader who wanted to use hypnotherapy to help control his reactions to losing trades and improve his levels of discipline Working with this client, I became intrigued by trading issues and the similarities to gambling, and I soon knew that I wanted to work with traders as a specialism From this point on, I began to develop my knowledge of trading psychology I quickly realised there was a common set of themes that seemed to appear in my clinic as I saw more and more traders: discipline (or lack thereof), fear, stress and how you react to losing trades, to name but a few I realised the huge number of home-based traders out there in the world and the demand for my services began to grow Having seen the brilliant effects that hypnotherapy has had on my trader clients, the next logical step was for me to write this book, to bring hypnotherapy and NLP techniques to a wider audience of traders I want to pass on some of my knowledge and make hypnotherapy accessible to more traders This is a practical book It is all very well knowing, for example, that you experience anxiety whilst trading, but this book shows you how to identify those anxieties and their impact and how to overcome them This is hugely important for every trader because the psychological elements of trading are well known and well documented, but there is very little material that deals with how to develop yourself psychologically to deal with trading and achieve better results The aim of this book is to help you develop your success as a trader, become more consistent in your approach to trading and address larger psychological elements within trading You can find out more about me and my practice in Wokingham, Berkshire, on my website: HypnoTrading.co.uk from head to toe Imagine being totally absorbed in this colour of success, this feeling of success Step 8: Now float back out of the television screen and back into yourself sitting on the sofa and notice you are still filled with that colour and those feelings Enjoy it Step 9: Taking a deep breath and gently guide yourself out of hypnosis, bringing those feelings of success with you Confidence balls Some of the techniques take a little time, so this next technique is designed to provide you with a quick boost to your confidence for times when you need it whilst trading Perhaps you find yourself in a situation where you are in the middle of a trade and need the confidence to stay in longer to see if a losing trade turns around, or perhaps you want the confidence to finish a trade with a good profit rather than feeling the need to keep holding on Alternatively, you can use this technique as a quick motivation boost, for example, if you have stopped trading and need to get back into it, or you have lost a trade and feel demotivated by it Confidence balls Step 1: Close your eyes Think about the colour you chose in the last task that represents confidence and success Think about a time you felt confident in the past (it may be unrelated to trading) Step 2: As you think about that moment of confidence, make it vivid and bold in your body Imagine that colour and allow that motivation feeling to travel into your arms and down into your hands so you are holding a ball of colour in your hands, a ball of confidence Step 3: Hold your hands out in front of you now as if you were holding the balls in each hand, palms facing up Pull your hands up towards your shoulders and when you are ready, flick out your hands, away from yourself, as if you were throwing those coloured balls of confidence out into the world As you flick your hands out, notice that feeling of confidence filling your whole body Step 4: Keep practising and eventually you will only need to step three to bring on those feelings of confidence You are anchoring the feeling of confidence to the action of flicking your hands out TIP! If you want to use the ‘Confidence balls’ technique for motivation, use this activity but replace the confidence memory with a time you felt motivated and pick a colour that represents motivation for you Motivational control room This multi-purpose technique helps change your mindset and will instantly increase your motivation for success Before starting this technique, spend some time writing down what sort of motivation you want and need For example, you may need motivation to review lost trades, or perhaps to go back to basics on examining charts, or to write a proper trading plan You may even want to improve your motivation to increase your profits on your trades Motivational control room Step 1: Guide yourself into a relaxed state of hypnosis and settle in your special room Step 2: Imagine getting up from your seat and walking down the corridors of your mind Eventually, you’ll come to a door marked ‘control room’ This is the control room of your mind Step 3: Walk inside your control room and close the door Take a moment to familiarise yourself Some control rooms look like a mass of computers, others look like a ship’s engine room, or perhaps yours appears like a library Take note of the colours, how the room smells and any sounds you can hear Step 4: Look around for the part of your control room that manages your motivation, e.g for reviewing lost trades Is it a switch that needs to be turned on, or a dial that needs to be turned up? Or something else? Make the changes you need to that control Step 5: Move on to the next motivational element you want to improve, e.g writing a trading plan Once again, notice if this is a dial, knob or switch and make that change Repeat this process in all the areas you’d like to increase your motivation Step 6: Find the part of your control room that manages your overall motivation levels This will most likely be a dial or knob rather than a switch I want you to crank it right up to the highest level of motivation possible Step 7: When you have finished, leave your control room and lock the door behind you Walk back down the corridor until you are sitting in your own special room again and revel in how motivated you feel Step 8: Guide yourself out of hypnosis and make the most of your increased motivation This technique can be used as often as you need for a top up You can also go into your control room to make changes to anything you like, e.g to increase confidence, reduce anxiety, increase focus, etc Motivational affirmations Motivational affirmations are useful because they have a double effect: firstly, they help you work towards programming your mind to a motivated mindset and, secondly, they are introducing you to the immediate feeling of being motivated It is amazing how quickly you can start to feel and behave in a motivated manner just by talking about it Write down five affirmations to help you become more motivated They not need to be complicated They can be as straightforward as “I am a motivated person,” or they can be more specific, such as “I find it easy to stay motivated to monitor my trades,” or “I enjoy reviewing all results and am driven to achieve the best I can do.” Spend time practising these affirmations and ensure they evolve with your success 10 Visualising profitable trades Building up your ability to visualise success is crucial in helping you towards your goals An important step for any trader is to be able to visualise winning trades You will hopefully be able to draw on your own experiences of how great you felt If not, now is the time to create your own reality Visualising profitable trades Step 1: Close your eyes Step 2: Picture yourself trading Build up the picture in your mind Where you normally sit? How many screens you have? What type of trade is it? Can you smell anything, e.g coffee or the leather of a chair? Step 3: Build up the next layer by focusing on the trade, watching the charts Notice how you are beginning to feel and what you are thinking as you see your profit levels rising and how you make the decision to exit the trade Perhaps you are confident in your abilities to make decisions, perhaps you are in a heightened state of awareness when monitoring what is happening Step 4: As you exit the trade with a profit, notice how that feels Notice how positive, motivated and calm you feel, safe in the knowledge it is what you expect Perhaps you tailor the image to a specific value of profit or perhaps it’s just another in a long line of winning trades Step 5: Make it as real and as vivid as you can Notice how you look, as well as how you feel Enjoy the image for a few minutes and then open your eyes Step 6: Now you have created that vivid mental image of yourself creating regular profit on the trades that you make, take it one step further and now repeat this in hypnosis This will really strengthen the effect and programme your mind towards helping you make more profitable trades You can use this simple visualisation to help you achieve your goals It builds a profitbased mindset and helps build your confidence You can use it to target specific profit goals For example, if you want to gradually increase the value you place on each pip or the number of pips of profit you target per trade then you can tailor this task accordingly 11 Using memories Have you ever noticed that a certain piece of music evokes certain memories, good or bad? Or how a certain smell makes you feel? Or perhaps you have noticed that if you think about a nice cream cake, for example, it makes you salivate? For every thought we have, there is a chemical reaction within our brain and our body reacts accordingly If you want to boost your confidence or your motivation instantly you merely have to recall a time when you experienced those emotions They not have to be memories related to trading It could be such things as passing exams, meeting someone you love or making an important speech Whenever you recall a time when you have felt motivated and/or confident you will experience that rush of emotion and you can work with that to a positive effect Remember that emotions are not something to be ignored and overpowered They are there to give you messages about your environment and therefore they should be controlled and utilised to your advantage Write down three memories or experiences when you have felt really confident and really good about yourself and your abilities Write down another three memories or experiences when you have felt extremely motivated As you recall those times, note down how you feel or what you think now Summary This chapter has covered a wide variety of techniques and practical examples for using affirmations and visualisations to help you develop your confidence and motivation as a person and as a trader It’s easy to get stuck and not recognise that our confidence has been dented or that we don’t feel as motivated as we did previously Being unmotivated or lacking confidence can seriously affect your trading performance You might notice it in your self-talk, or in your behaviours, e.g not feeling bothered to review lost trades, etc Why not spend some time reflecting on yourself to see whether you could be affected by this? Stress and anxiety can also contribute to lack of confidence and lack of motivation You can combine all of these techniques with those outlined in other chapters in this book For example, if you experience a losing trade and you think it’s knocked your confidence then you can combine activities from Chapter Four and Chapter Ten to get your mindset back on track TIP! Redo the written activity you completed at the start of this chapter and reflect on how that has changed Also think about other changes you have noticed that may be unrelated to the items you wrote down Mental Preparation and Discipline CHAPTER TWELVE O ne of the biggest issues my trading clients present with is a lack of discipline A lack of discipline can allow emotions to get in the way, poor decision-making and large losses Discipline allows you to exert a level of control over the trading environment It places you in a superior position for decision-making and helps you to yield better and more profitable trades In this chapter we will cover: Discipline – or lack thereof Technique: clearing your mind Technique: cognitive capacity monitor Body language Technique: power of discipline Discipline – or lack thereof Discipline is often perceived as being interchangeable with motivation Yet many traders report feeling motivated but acting without discipline There are many reasons for this, such as a lack of goals, not planning appropriately, or being greedy and wanting to make a quick buck This chapter covers a number of techniques that will increase your discipline levels and also looks at the importance of mental preparation This is because mental preparation supports high levels of discipline It is important to consider that discipline, or lack thereof, isn’t necessarily about being lazy Personality, trading style, fear, anxiety and confidence can all contribute to how disciplined you are For example, if you are struggling to follow a plan because fear is influencing you, you are letting fear have power over discipline This is why I am covering discipline and mental preparation at the end of the book You will get optimal results if you use the following techniques to build on the changes you have already created As a rule, the majority of traders will start their trading day by examining charts, noting the news and whether there is anything that could affect the market, and considering the types of trade they might like to take Yet very few take the time to mentally prepare for their trading day Mental preparation is really important because it sets you up in a positive, success mindset where you can maintain focus, remove distraction and perform better So how you it? Clearing your mind The first step to take is to declutter your mind of all the external elements that might influence how you trade No one likes it when people bring their personal life to work: it is obvious that it will affect your performance It is important to be able to ‘park the problem’ and learn to focus purely on trading and trading well TIP! Just 10-15 minutes of self-hypnosis can be as refreshing as a whole night’s sleep So if you are tired or you just want to quieten your mind for a bit, use self-hypnosis on its own Use the following technique for a quick sweep up of anything that might affect your trading Clearing your mind Step 1: Guide yourself into hypnosis and your own special room Step 2: Once in your special room, visualise a bag or a bin in the corner Walk over to it and start throwing anything in it that you believe might negatively influence how you trade that day, e.g an argument with a spouse, money concerns, remembering to pick up the dry cleaning, thinking about what time you need to catch the bus, whether you switched off your phone, etc Step 3: Put a lid on the bin or up the bag Then walk away from it knowing your mind is clear and return to that comfortable chair you were in Step 4: End the hypnosis session knowing you are clear minded This technique is so quick and effective at pushing distractions to one side to allow you to focus on trading Combine it with some success affirmations or motivation affirmations afterwards and you’ll be in a positive state of mind to trade This technique isn’t about resolving or letting go of particular problems, it is just about placing them to the side to think about later If there is something that is really bothering you and you need something more powerful in order to put it to the side or forget about it, then I recommend you use one of the earlier techniques aimed at letting go Cognitive capacity monitor Sometimes our discipline levels or ability to ‘get into the zone’ to trade can be influenced by a low cognitive capacity In other words, feeling you are mentally drained and exhausted Perhaps you have another job that you that has kept you very busy, or perhaps you have spent all week trading and by the end of the week you feel tired, as if you can’t think straight This technique is targeted towards giving you a mental refresh and topping up your cognitive capacity to process information, thus allowing you to make good decisions Cognitive capacity monitor Step 1: Guide yourself into hypnosis and into your own special room Step 2: Imagine your body is filled with a giant thermometer from your head down to your feet This thermometer does not measure temperature: it measures your cognitive capacity When it is full, you have full use of your mental capabilities, you are on top form and you feel great When you have brain fog, are tired or just can’t process information as easily your levels are low Step 3: Give the liquid in your thermometer a colour Perhaps a vivid, bright colour that energises you Note your current levels on the cognitive capacity monitor To top them up, notice that underneath your cognitive capacity monitor, by your feet, there is an orange pump, like a foot pump Step 4: Take a deep breath and see yourself doing one foot pump and notice the level of your cognitive capacity rising Take another deep breath and another foot pump and see the levels rising again Keep doing this until your cognitive capacity monitor is full or at a level you are happy with Step 5: Clear your mind, perhaps imagine yourself floating Take five nice deep breaths and notice how clear headed you feel, how energised you feel Step 6: End your hypnosis session Body language Our biggest form of non-verbal communication is body language, including facial expressions Our body language reflects the truth behind our thoughts and feelings and can also give away lies and deceit Excitingly, we can also use our body language to change what we are thinking or feeling Years ago, I used to work in a call centre, selling gas and electricity I remember distinctly being told to smile more when I was on the phone This is because smiling helps lift your mood and therefore you sound more positive on the phone It works I use body language a lot in my therapy room to understand how my clients are feeling and whether they have information they want to tell me but are worried about discussing I also use it on myself When presenting, whether in person or on webinars, I always stand tall, put my shoulders back, relax and smile It increases my confidence and I know it looks better than shoulders hunched and looking small You can use body language to help enhance your mindset and discipline when trading Think back to the modelling task and any notes you made on the posture, physical characteristics and body language of those you were modelling Did you notice anything? Think about how you can alter your posture and use body language to get into the right mindset for trading Write down your current posture and body language when trading Are you huddled over your laptop, are your arms crossed? Do you rub your forehead when watching the trade? What you think a successful trader looks like in terms of posture and body language? Do they have their shoulders back? Are they open and relaxed? Notice any differences Body language Step 1: Stand in front of a mirror and alter how you are standing so that you look confident, calm and in control, or however you would like to look before you trade Step 2: Sit down where you normally when you are trading, and bring with you that body language and posture to be in charge Do you notice yourself feeling more focused or prepared? I once worked with a trader who felt he lacked discipline I introduced him to this concept and he spent every morning in front of the mirror checking that he looked like he was in the right mindset He reported back that his attitude had begun to change because he felt more mentally prepared, rather than just technically prepared with charts and knowledge This is a quick-win task and easy to implement on a daily basis Power for discipline Power for discipline is similar to role play It’s about your ability to imagine what it feels like to be disciplined and reflect that within yourself Power for discipline Step 1: Pick a person (either real or imaginary: it can be a cartoon character, a famous trader, someone you know, etc.) who you consider to be incredibly disciplined, whether that’s when trading or in another element of their life such as exercise Think about what makes them disciplined, how you can tell that they are disciplined, and what characteristics you admire and would like for yourself Step 2: Stand up and imagine there is a circle on the floor in front of you Perhaps it’s like a hula hoop, or a blockfilled circle of colour, whatever feels comfortable for you This circle contains all the characteristics, all of the discipline levels, all of the good traits that you want from the person you chose in step one They are in the circle Step 3: Close your eyes and think about this circle in front of you on the floor, imagining all those elements in step two contained within it When you are ready, take a step forward into the circle Absorb all those characteristics, all of that discipline Imagine you are that person See what they see, look out of their eyes, notice that increased discipline What is it like? Step 4: After a few moments, step outside the circle and open your eyes What did you notice? Step 5: Repeat this activity several times from step two until you can evoke those feelings really easily Step 6: Once you have mastered doing this standing up, you can now practise it sitting down A good idea would be to invoke the circle around you where you sit when you trade In this instance, you can either imagine the circle already surrounding the chair or you can sit in the chair and imagine the circle appearing around you You can apply the power circle activity to any other trait you’d like, e.g focus, determination, calmness, straight-talking, confidence, watching what you eat, etc In the case of discipline, if you practise regularly, you’ll notice that it becomes very quick and easy to bring about those feelings of discipline that will enable you to trade well Summary Taking the time to mentally prepare to trade will help get you into a disciplined mindset All sorts of life events and challenges can distract you from trading well The techniques outlined in this chapter will help you to deal with those distractions until, eventually, you’ll realise you find it easy to switch off from the outside world when you come to trade I can’t emphasise enough the importance of taking time to mentally prepare to trade and get into the right zone and mindset It will automatically help reduce levels of fear and anxiety The mental preparation will help you to feel more confident and know that you will trade to the best of your abilities CHAPTER THIRTEEN Your Future W e now move on from resolving the psychological issues that trading brings and look at the future This chapter is about how you can work towards the future you desire and how to set goals We will cover the following: Goal setting Activity: PACER planning Technique: creative strategies Technique: timelines Goal setting It is easy to superficially set goals and monitor your success against these, but you need to consider more deeply how you get from where you are now (your present state) to where you want to be (your desired state) If you take the time to delve deeply into what you want to achieve and how you’ll it, you give yourself the opportunity to make it achievable You can reassess your progress as your needs change, and you can stay on track because you can see how well you have done and what you still need to achieve One way I recommend you set yourself goals is using a PACER plan PACER plan The first step is to get a notepad and a pen You can this task several times until you have a goal and plan you are happy with You can also use what you have written down as a way of comparing now and then, when you look back in the future Use the acronym PACER to assess your goals, as follows: P: Positive – state what you want in the positive A: Achievement – how will you know you have achieved it? C: Context – when you want it? E: Ecology – what will happen if you achieve it? If you achieve it, will you lose anything? R: Resources – can you initiate it, achieve it and maintain it? Once you have this basic framework, flesh it out by asking yourself more questions Be sure to note down the answers to these as well For example: What would stop you achieving it? What obstacles might you come across? How you get past them? Are you creating any problems? What resources you have and what additional resources will you need? How will you know you are on course? What are you measuring and how often are you measuring it? How will you feel? What will you experience? How will you know you have achieved your goal? This task is a great way for you to create a flexible plan and measure your performance If you come across any unexpected obstacles you can use this as a framework to understand what impact they might have and what you can to overcome them This exercise may also help you realise that perhaps your initial goal is too big and you need smaller goals first For example, your eventual goal may be to become a full-time trader, but before that perhaps you need a goal of making £X per month consistently over a period of X months This level of planning will empower you to overcome hurdles and maintain a positive mindset If you happen to go through a period of several losing trades, you can look back at what you have achieved so far, noting whether you are still on course to meet your goals If necessary, you can use the techniques described earlier in the book to help you remain on track Creative strategy This technique was originally used by Walt Disney when he created Snow White The creative strategy is the next level up for your plan to help you assess what you can achieve Creative strategy Step 1: Place three pieces of paper on the floor in different areas, labelled DREAMER, REALIST and CRITIC Step 2: Stand on the dreamer spot and spend a moment remembering a time when you were really creative, carefree and uninhibited Then step onto the realist spot and recall a time you were able to think realistically and put a plan into action Then finally step onto the critic spot and think about a time when you offered positive, constructive criticism This is helping you create a mindset for each spot Remember the dreamer can only dream and does not plan or critique The realist can only plan and the critic can only critique Step 3: Stand in the middle and think about the goal you set in your PACER plan Now step into the dreamer spot and close your eyes Imagine the full sensory experience of having achieved that goal Step 4: Holding onto that dream, step into the realist spot and think about how you will implement a plan to achieve that goal Step 5: Now move that dream and plan into the critic spot and get some feedback on the plan you’ve made Step 6: Take the constructive feedback and step back onto the realist spot Add all these elements and contingencies to the plan Step 7: Return to the critic to discuss and repeat the process if and when required, until you are happy with the end result Although you may feel a bit silly standing up and moving from spot to spot completing this activity, it is a good way of processing information and thinking aloud You will feel happy with your goals and more sure about how to complete them Timelines The final activity in this chapter is about helping you to commit mentally and emotionally to your plan and understanding its role in your future success as a trader It combines hypnosis, visualisation, NLP, affirmation and Havening to put you on the path to success Your timeline Step 1: Use self-hypnosis to guide yourself into your own special room Spend a few minutes resting and relaxing, taking some nice, slow deep breaths Step 2: Imagine you get up from that comfortable chair and go outside into the garden You find yourself walking down a pathway in a field It is a warm day, there is a gentle breeze and not a cloud in the sky Eventually see yourself come to a fork in the road You can go either left or right Step 3: As you look down the left path, you realise it is the path to a future where you not have a specific plan As you look down the right-hand path, you will see it is the path to your future where you have followed the plan you have been creating Step 4: Imagine you are now at the other end of the left-hand path As you look back on your life, what has happened? Did you well at trading with no plan? Did you have a good life? Did you need more money? Was it what you wanted your life to be like? Step 5: Now imagine that you are at the other end of the right-hand path, the pathway where you followed the plan you had created for yourself, the pathway where you achieved your goals What was your life like? How did you feel? Was it exciting? How does it feel being successful? Step 6: Return to the fork in the road It is decision time now Do you want to go left, the route of no goals and no plan, or you want to go right, where you achieve your goals by following your plan? Step 7: As you choose your path, start walking towards that future and use the following affirmation: “I am on the X path in my life and I am achieving X.” For example, “I am on the right path in my life and I am achieving success in trading.” Repeat this affirmation five times Step 8: When your chosen path is clear in your mind, return to that place in your own special room and guide yourself out of hypnosis Step 9: Keeping your eyes closed, start Havening your arms and whisper to yourself, “Success” Do this for a few minutes before ending the session Congratulations! You are set to work hard to create the success that you want Remember, it is all about taking one step at a time and always moving forward Goals can always be amended and reviewed You have the ability to be the best trader that you can be Finding a Suitable Hypnotherapist CHAPTER FOURTEEN S ometimes we all need a little extra help and you may decide you would like to consult a hypnotherapist for some support There are a variety of approaches in hypnotherapy and you will find solution focused brief hypnotherapists, cognitive behavioural hypnotherapists and analytical hypnotherapists Which is best? Each will claim they offer the best solution and all hypnotherapists are solution focused Personally, I use a combined approach so that I can offer the best therapy to my clients Very importantly, look for a therapist who is trained in using analysis, otherwise called hypno-analysis or regression Sometimes events from our past (not necessarily our childhood) can influence how we behave and how we feel in the present moment Elements of self-sabotage can often be rooted in our past experiences even if we are completely unaware of it at a conscious level A trained analyst can help you uncover those root causes and help you move forward without the past affecting you in any negative way Some hypnotherapists not agree this is necessary and so not offer it as a service However, I have witnessed first-hand on many occasions the power of analysis and the incredible changes my clients have experienced Analysis isn’t always needed and your therapist will be able to discuss this with you Whatever approach you go for, it is important that you find a hypnotherapist who is fully qualified Look for membership with the following: Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC) – CNHC is the UK’s main governing body for complementary therapies and was set up with government support to protect the public by providing a UK voluntary register of complementary therapists The CNHC’s register has been approved as an Accredited Register by the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care which means that any therapist you pick will have had exceptional levels of training and has to provide evidence of continuous learning and development every year There are many hypnotherapy registers and associations Those associations accredited by CNHC have demonstrated training and membership to a high level of competency All hypnotherapists should have their memberships clearly displayed on their website The National Council for Hypnotherapy (NCH) is one of the largest registers for hypnotherapists and is accredited by CNHC The Association for Professional Hypnosis and Psychotherapy (APHP) is an official verification authority for CNHC and all hypnotherapy practitioners are guaranteed to have undergone thorough training with schools that comply with the National Occupational Standards for hypnotherapy The reason I have separated out NCH and APHP from CNHC is because not every hypnotherapist who is an accredited member will have chosen to join CNHC Ideally, find a hypnotherapist who has experience working with traders We are very few and far between, but I know from my own experience and development that I have spent hundreds, if not thousands, of hours learning about trading psychology and how I can use hypnotherapy to best help traders create and achieve the changes they want If you can’t find someone local to you with experience working with traders, go along and speak to a couple of hypnotherapists anyway As long as they have good quality training and experience they will most likely be able to help you Or you may find a therapist who offers sessions via Skype, enabling you to work with them even if they are not local to you Consultations should always be available to you Be mindful of a 20 or 30 minute consultation even if it’s free: the therapist may be unable to learn enough about you and the help that you want or need with trading in such a short time Rapport is important for both therapist and client Consider seeing two or three hypnotherapists for consultations to see who you would like to work with Not all consultations will be free and that is down to the individual therapist’s preference By the end of your consultation you should feel comfortable with the therapist You should have an understanding of the methods and techniques your therapist intends to use and how many sessions you might need Hypnotherapy, or any other therapy for that matter, isn’t guaranteed to help you break down barriers in your life, but it has a high success rate Provided you really want to make those changes and are prepared to change behaviours and emotions, there is every reason for it to be successful You have also learned about Havening in this book Havening is a standalone therapy and there is a database of registered practitioners on the Havening.org website There are many therapists out there who have trained in Havening skills but who are not registered practitioners You should still feel comfortable in consulting them as a lack of registration does not imply they are not highly trained HYPNOTRADING COURSES A s a final note, I’d like to take a moment to tell you about the HypnoTrading courses that are available online There are several online courses available that offer you video, audio and worksheet support across a number of areas I also run courses throughout the year where you will get the opportunity to work with me on common trading issues The courses are designed to cover the topics and techniques raised in this book, whilst benefitting from being able to explore more detailed and personal elements of your trading These courses run in small groups so that I can work with you individually, and you will benefit from a range of course materials and follow-up one-to-one coaching sessions If a course does not suit you, you could consider a consultation and working with me one-toone, where I can address your specific needs as an individual as well as a trader To register your interest and find out more information, visit HypnoTrading.co.uk and use the contact form to get in touch I monitor the emails personally so you are guaranteed confidentiality and a personal response from me ... and causes a physical and emotional reaction If you change your thoughts and your reactions then you can change your behaviour When you learn to trade, you are taught how to trade, how to analyse.. .HypnoTrading A practical guide to using hypnosis and NLP to improve your trading performance Catherine Stott BSc, DHP, Clinical Hypnotherapist HARRIMAN HOUSE LTD 18 College... they are going to achieve them The absence of a plan means a lack of commitment to a particular strategy or method It means a lack of vision and it also means you cannot measure your success Traders