It seems like the world jumped right past Thanksgiving. Life seems to be in Christmas spirit mode.
But with the holiday season comes those January first resolutions.
And don’t those goals seem to fade away right around the time you are filing your taxes?
It’s not just you, there is an actual science behind habit change.
And it’s not the habit-forming theories we’ve all heard someone lecture us on at one point or another…
It takes 21 days to form a habit… wait no, its 60 days.
No, wear a rubber band and snap it to keep from going back to your old ways.
Leave post–it notes all over the house to remind you to keep on the straight and narrow.
Ideas to change habits can truly get bizarre… that’s what makes it hard for us to switch our diets up.
I’ll tell you first, it’s not easy to change your habits. Heck, I went vegan this year, and it was so hard to try to stick to a new diet.
Every time I walked past the meat section at the supermarket… my mouth would water and I had an impulse to pick up some juicy steaks.
But I knew many of the elite in their respective fields were going vegan to boost their performance. So when I had a thought to even think of meat, I thought about the potential benefits changing my diet could have on my future…
Still going strong with my diet change… and it’s directly impacted my trading performance for the better!
(The changes I’ve made to my habits helped me see my two momentum patterns clearly and rake in massive profits. New Jason Bond Picks watchlist dropping soon, click here to get in on the action)
There’s something I want to teach you about habit change… and it’s shocking once you realize how easy it is to get that monkey off your back.
The Quickest Way to Break Your Bad Habits
The true master behind the science of habit change is── Pavlov.
Every person that has taken a psychology course or watch The Big Bang Theory has probably heard of Pavlov’s dog. Who can forget Sheldon plying Penny with chocolates every time she behaved “well”?
Well, the Pavlov experiment originally was to determine the amount of saliva produced by dogs, in reaction to being fed.
Kinda gross right?
But what he discovered was a psychology breakthrough on conditioning. And it went beyond puppies and Penny getting treats.
We are all hard-wired with natural responses. Like laughing when something is funny or yawning when we are tired. Nothing makes us perform these actions, they simply happen. A hardwired habit. An unconditioned response.
In Pavlov’s experiment, the unconditioned response was the dog salivating when being fed. But Pavlov noticed when the dogs saw the person who feeds them, they would start to salivate.
This experiment went beyond dog drool study.
Pavlov after seeing this response started to ring a bell every time the dogs ate.
Soon the dogs would drool simply at the sound of the bell ringing. This response was 100% a learned conditional response and was now a habit for the dogs.
The Science Behind The Shocking Thought Experiment
The psychology behind it is we now can be conscious of our natural behaviors. Also, the ones we have been conditioned to have. However, those conditioned habits aren’t always positive ones.
How do we go about changing our habits for the better then?
Many people have a New Year’s resolution to get fit. But time and time again your efforts are thwarted despite your plan to go to the gym 5 days a week after work.
But you find yourself too tired to go some days. So instead you go home and binge tv. Or maybe you find yourself saying yes to the after-work cocktails. You’re probably also thinking, hanging friends is more fun.
What has happened is you have actually conditioned yourself not to workout. Every time unwittingly giving yourself little rewards of ice-cold beer and quality time with your Netflix account. This why our new little habits usually don’t work out.
How Bad Do You Want It?
Changing your habits requires you to condition your mind to WANT to do it instead of forcing it. At no time did Sheldon sit on Penny and refuse to get off till she acted better. Nor did Pavlov force the dogs to behave in any sort of way.
A better way to tackle the workout habit would be to go out with friends as a reward for ab crushing workout. Or binge the latest Netflix Original on the treadmill instead of on the couch.
A little perk while developing the habit will help it stick. Soon it will be second nature to hit the gym.
Say Goodbye to Your Bad Trading Habits
How does the science behind behavior change apply to trading?
Simple. Some habits you probably already developed without even knowing it. And no doubt they are holding you back from leveling up your trading game.
Now would be a great time to determine what your Pavlov ringing bell is.
Do you love to sleep in?
While those minutes after you hit the snooze button feel worth it at the time it is a crippling habit.
Successful Traders Develop Good Habits
Profitable traders get up early! Reinforce your morning-person behavior with a cup of your favorite morning beverage. Maybe even sip it on the balcony while looking at the foreign markets before the US market is even awake. Or if you still aren’t fully awake start out glancing through your Insta feed. But focus on enjoying your quiet morning.
By creating a pleasant morning routine, you will be eclipsing your habit of oversleeping. And you will develop one that will start your day off with an edge. You will also be going into the market foggy brain free and already with an upper hand.
Are you mimicking the mistakes you made after a loss?
While it may seem wild, but people do it all the time. Thinking this time it will be different. Or they simply don’t know that they are causing themselves to fail at trading.
This is where keeping a trading journal is an essential habit to have.
Being able to reflect on your past trades and learn from each and every one. Growing yourself as a trader.
This can quickly become a conditional habit. Especially when you realize how much more profitable you are when journaling.
Each of our trading gurus has reached the elite level of trading they are at by learning the science behind habit change. And developing the habit that put them on the map today.
After watching The Game Changers, I decided to make the move and go vegan.
You know what happened? By changing my lifestyle to focus on health I started seeing changes in my trading.
And those changes happened to be me crushing it.
I developed learned how to trade options the right way just a few months ago, and going vegan boosted my performance… now I’m able to spot these winners regularly.
If you really want to change your bad trading habits, it’s all about starting fresh and I’ve got two strategies that might be the perfect solution: Weekly Windfalls (if you’re into options) or Jason Bond Picks (if momentum stocks are more your style).
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