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Mental Preparation for Traders

Writer's picture: Marco PaonessaMarco Paonessa

A sportsman's asset in the trading room for managing stress, flexibility, organisation and resilience


Préparation mentale Nyon

The world of trading is an intense environment, where making quick decisions under pressure can mean the difference between a resounding success and a significant loss. Traders, salespeople, brokers, like top-level athletes, are under immense stress. But did you know that the same mental preparation techniques used by athletes can improve your performance, well-being, and health as a trader?


Chances are, your desire to become a trader started with the ambition to shine by making complex decisions in a volatile market environment, saturated with information to be selected, filtered, and prioritized.


However, after a few years, your perspective may have changed. The once-glorious figure now faces paralyzing constraints, conflicting demands, and new challenges. The result: stress, discomfort, or even a sense of inefficiency can arise.


From the outside, things seem simple. Your partner or friends may find your problems insignificant, even trivial... But when you're in the thick of it, reality is quite different. It’s a complicated matrix to manage, where you must juggle the demands of your management, risk manager, IT, compliance, sales, and maybe even the character and ambitions of your desk neighbor... The issues and inconsistencies are typical of this industry and often hard to grasp for people without experience in the field, even for those specialized in mental coaching.

You’ve spent years studying, and your math skills are likely exceptional, but how many hours have you devoted to studying your inner state and optimizing your cognitive abilities? You might have a friend who talks to you about tai chi, yoga, meditation, and herbal teas, but will that truly have a structural impact on your inner state?


Having spent 25 years in trading rooms at banks and brokers, passionate about stress management and mental preparation, I spent several years training as a therapist and life coach.

I work in my office in Geneva or via video-call with athletes and executives to address stress management, organization, and the revision of their mental map.
The goal is to understand your mental map and find the right tools and words to trigger positive change.

Your inner state must be organized like your pricing system. Well-structured, with every element in its place, without neglecting the fundamentals. And one of the fundamentals is your body.



YOUR BODY

Your senses, like hearing and sight, capture information (an unhappy client, a plummeting market), triggering emotions. The word “emotion” comes from the Latin emotio, meaning “movement.” This term is derived from emovere, composed of "e-" (out of, outward) and "movere" (to move, to shift). Emotions, therefore, are tools that allow us to activate movement (fear, anger, etc.). But the problem is, you're still sitting in your chair… So the energy generated by your emotions isn’t used and ends up bouncing around in your body like a pinball, creating, among other things, muscle tension.

The mind-body connection in physiology is complex and deeply integrated. It is largely mediated by neurobiological mechanisms, with the limbic system playing a crucial role. This connection works both ways: the mind (thoughts, emotions, mental states) influences the body, and bodily signals also influence the mind. If your body isn’t relaxed before you even arrive at the office, it will negatively impact your mental state, and thus, your decisions and reactions.

The first step is therefore muscle relaxation. There are many methods, such as Jacobson's progressive relaxation, Schultz’s autogenic training, positive visualization, and various breathing techniques. Sports can also help, but over time, its anti-stress effect decreases in seasoned athletes. Remember, from a physiological perspective, sports are also a form of stress! So, doing more doesn't necessarily mean you’ll feel better.

Your body also reflects what you eat, drink, your sleep, and your environment. And of course, your physical state is a result of what’s happening in your mind, your sensitivity, and your reactions to the stressful elements of your day.


YOUR MIND


Your mental map – or how to organize your brain. You’re organized when managing your pricing system and your books, so why not use the same tools for your mind? Revisiting your mental map is about finding your place as a person in relation to your work, your P&L, your ego, and your fear of failure.

Distancing yourself will be your strength. Analyze things with as little emotion as possible. What do tennis or golf players do after a play? They return to a neutral state. The same should apply to you after work in the evening.



Let’s take Arsène Wenger’s concept of “task.” He introduced an idea called “on task” with his players, based on two mental modes that we can visualize through colors: red and blue.

Red: Being in the red means being dominated by emotion. You feel hesitation, fear, you dwell on past actions, and frustration takes over.

Blue: You are “on task.” You’re focused on the present, on the action at hand. You are determined, and no emotion interferes with your performance.

Observe your days: don’t you notice that an event can shift your mindset and influence your decisions for the rest of the day? When you take a loss, what is the probability that your next trade will also be a losing one? A professional tennis player, after every exchange, performs intense mental work to prepare for the next serve.


MENTAL MODE

There’s a question of mental mode: what state of mind are you in when you walk through the office door? How does your brain prepare for the various actions to be taken? I often use mental imagery (positive visualization). You can find a blog on the subject in this link. With NLP, we can work on your adaptability and flexibility, which will be key in a dynamic and sometimes complex environment.


Why Hire a Stress Management and Mental Preparation Coach?

Mental training is as crucial as technical training. As a trader, you must be able to control your emotions, even in the most intense moments. And equally important: your well-being after work and your health today and tomorrow. A mental preparation coach can teach you how to:

•    Manage your emotions more effectively to avoid impulsive decisions.

•    Strengthen your resilience in the face of losses and daily challenges.

•    Optimize your routine with clear and focused thinking in executing your tasks.

At Reach Your Goal, we specialize in supporting people working in stressful environments, like traders. Through techniques inspired by athletes’ mental preparation, we help you develop a stronger mind, capable of performing under pressure.


Conclusion: Become a Stronger Trader Through Mental Preparation

For your performance, well-being, and health: you don’t have to face the emotional and mental challenges of trading alone. Just like athletes who work with coaches to improve their mental game, you can do the same to better manage stress and improve your performance.

Contact us today to ask our questions and discover how to transform your mindset, work better, and simply be happier.



Marco PAONESSA

Life Coach certified RMT100

Therapist Relaxologist Accredited ASCA


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