In psychology, “being in the zone” is more commonly referred to as “flow.”
The concept was proposed by Mihály Csíkszentmihályi (try saying that out loud 3 times!), describing it as the state in which a person feels Fully engaged and fully focused in a specific task.
Most of the time, we ignore focus as the primary factor behind this feeling, and instead, we associate it with superstition or ritual.
This is particularly common among athletes who believe there is a causal relationship between a given circumstance and an outcome.
For example, some of you may know that Michael Jordan used to wear University of North Carolina blue shorts under his Chicago Bulls uniform for good luck.
But in fact, it’s just about how well you are able to maintain focus and pure concentration.
In this mental state, you can limit everything and focus on nothing but the activity at hand. You don’t even think or feel what you’re doing – to borrow from our friends at Nike, you “just do it.”
Now the question is, “How do you stay in this state of flow?”
Here are three tips that may help:
1. Keep your stress levels in check
Just like your cholesterol levels, you should focus on keeping your stress levels in check as well.
Note that I did not tell you to eliminate stress. Like I said in the past, it can be good for you.
Stress in the form of excitement can make you view trading as something that is not a job or a chore but rather an adventure. Thus, it makes you more engaged and focused in trading.
Of course, you cannot allow your stress levels to get too high either because it will most likely have detrimental effects on your trading.
If you let stress get the best of you, you could develop trading paralysis as fear of the unknown and anxiety make you hold back on your analysis.
2. Be confident
One problem with many traders is that they pay too much attention to the recency bias, especially when they are losing.
They allow these losses to affect their confidence in their new trades, allowing fear to pass through and preventing them from taking trades, even if they have strong setups.
However, you should know that the best traders know how to focus on the brighter side of their trading which in turn helps them manage their confidence (and ego).
They understand that they must trust their trading plans and have confidence that in the long term, they can and will excel.
Self-confidence cannot happen overnight. It is a skill that must be learned and developed.
There are some techniques you can implement to build your self-confidence. Focusing on the process, maintaining intentional practice, and being optimistic usually does the trick!
3. Be prepared
You have to put the time, work and effort into preparing your trading plan. Your trading plan will give you an edge in your trading and increase the odds in your favor.
The most successful traders are not only successful because of what they do during market hours but what they do before and after market hours close long.
Being prepared also creates a calm atmosphere that allows you to maintain your focus when the market does something unexpected or doesn’t go your way.
If you’ve already planned out what to do in times of unexpected ups and downs, you’re less likely to freak out. Instead, you will be calm, collected, and confident!
Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with having your own set of rituals when trading, but you need to be responsible for your own actions and not blame it on chance or fate.
Wouldn’t you say it’s much easier to stay in the zone when you know what you’re doing right than to look at your lucky polka dot socks to explain your winning streak?