DAY 40: Mental Training – Building Habits Outside of Trading

DAY 39: Understand your own personality and choose your trading styleFrom this perspective, you learned about various short-term to long-term styles and their suitability.
This time'sDAY 40is about“Mental Training”as the theme, and will look at time outside trading and lifestyle habits. We will explore how external factors such as exercise, sleep, meditation, and stress management influence the mental state and decision-making during trading. Today, we will explain how these “habits outside trading” can be helpful.

1. Why are habits outside trading important?

1. Mental state is influenced by physical condition

   • Lack of sleep or insufficient exercise makes you irritable. Concentration drops,leading to incorrect entries or delayed stop losses.
   • Too much stress tends to lead to impulsive, gambling-like actions lacking cool judgment.

2. Having a relaxing environment outside the market creates space during trading

   • Even after losing streaks, if you refresh with exercise or meditation, it won’t carry over to the next trade.
   • Even after big wins, because there is a habit of resting the body rather than getting complacent,it’s easier to keep mental swings flat.

3. Sustainability supports

   • Trading is a marathon-like long-term battle. To avoid burnout,switching on and off skillfully is key.
   • A healthy daily rhythm allows the PDCA cycle of validation, learning, and practice to continue.

2. Concrete examples of habits outside trading

(1) Exercise and physical training

• Benefits
  • Improved circulation and brain activity can reduce irritability and mood swings.
  • Studies show that strength training and aerobic exercise help relieve anxiety and stress more easily.
• How to do it
  • 10 minutes of light stretching or walking every morning, 2–3 gym sessions per week, running, etc.

(2) Stabilizing sleep rhythm

• Benefits
  • Sleep deprivation increases judgment errors and emotional trading.
  • With sufficient sleep,focus and endurance improve, reducing the risk of mental collapse after losses.
• How to do it
  • Keep bedtime and wake-up times as fixed as possible (avoid large differences between weekdays and weekends).
  • Create a quality sleep environment by limiting blue light from smartphones and PCs about an hour before bed.

(3) Meditation and mindfulness

• Benefits
  • Even a few minutes daily of breathing-focused meditation or mindfulness trains the ability to reduce distractions and stay present.It becomes easier to oversee trading anxiety and fear.
  • How to do it
• How to do it
  • About 5–10 minutes per day in a quiet place, sit with proper posture, and focus on slow breathing.
  • Using smartphone apps or YouTube guides makes it easier to start.

(4) Establishing eating habits

• Benefits
  • Good nutrition stabilizes brain function and reduces irritability from rapid glucose fluctuations.
  • Even during long trading sessions, it helps minimize energy depletion and loss of focus.
• How to do it
  • Avoid high sugar and high caffeine as a staple; aim for balanced intake of protein and vegetables.
  • Keep drinks to water or tea, and limit excessive energy drinks. .

(5) Refreshing with hobbies and leisure

• Benefits
  • Constant market watching builds stress and drains the mind. Off-time is essential.
  • Refreshing the mind with a hobby makes it easier to reset after losing streaks or not being overly confident after winning.
• How to do it
  • Engage regularly in a favorite movie, music, or outdoor activity,completely immersing in something outside trading.
  • On days off, consciously detach from charts and spend time with family or friends.

3. Short breaks during trading are effective

1. Long periods of staring at the screen are counterproductive

   • If you stare at charts for hours due to scalping, fatigue builds andjudgment deteriorates.
   • It is important to stand up and stretch or rest eyes about once an hour.

2. Small rule settings

   • Example: after consecutive entries, do not trade for at least 10 minutes.
   • Entering trades immediately after a win or loss makes you prone to the emotional swings of consecutive wins or losses.

3. For scalpers, focus for a short time

   • Trade scalping for only 30 minutes to 1 hour when concentration lasts, then rest. .
   • Rather than trading for long hours aimlessly,short bursts of focus → break → resumetend to improve performance.

4. How mental strengthening affects trading results

1. Speed of cutting losses and consistency

   • When stressed, you delay stop-losses hoping for a rebound, or you act rashly to cut losses quickly. This causes fluctuations.

2. Able to seize opportunities firmly

   • With a stable mind, you can enter according to your plan without hesitation.

3. Calm response to major market moves

   • People with lower stress levels are more likely to stay calm and respond appropriately to unexpected news.

5. Summary & Next Episode Preview

Summary

1. The habits outside trading (exercise, sleep, meditation, diet, hobbies) lay the mental foundation and ultimately support decision-making and patience during trading.
2. Concrete methods：
   • Exercise: running or gym, short stretches to relieve stress.
   • Sleep: keep bedtime and waking time consistent to rest the brain.
   • Meditation: reduce distractions and cultivate focus on the present.
   • Diet: prioritize balance to avoid rapid blood sugar changes and support stable brain function.
   • Hobbies/entertainment: switch on and off to build a mindset that isn’t overly dependent on trading.
3. Short breaks and managing focus time are important: especially long periods of sticking to the screen increase fatigue and mistakes.
4. When the mind is strong, decisions to cut losses or to let profits run are less likely to waver, and you can respond calmly to large price movements.

Next time (DAY 41) Theme: Correct failure and incorrect failure

• We are entering the final phase of Mental Strength Month. Next time, we will discusshow to perceive failure.
• For traders, a “stop-loss” or a “losing trade” is not necessarily a mistake—distinguishing between correct failure and incorrect failure will turn into a foundation for future success.
• Stay tuned!

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