I would like to start a thread to discuss books dealing with the psychological aspects of "peak" performance... Some of the books that I have found particularly helpful in not only trading but in life itself include; Trading In The Zone -- Mark Douglas Reminiscence of a Stock Operator -- Edwin Leferve The Intuitive Trader & The Tao of Trading -- Robert Koppel Way of the Warrior Trader -- Richard McCall Zen in the Art of Poker -- Richard Phillops Flow; The psychology of Optimal Experience -- wont even attempt to spell name Mastery -- George Leonard Market Wizards 1&2 -- Jack Schwager Some books on the more spiritual side are; Zen in the Art of Archery -- Eugene Herrigel Tao Te Ching -- Lao Tzu The Inner Chapters -- Chuang Tzu The Bhagavad Gita -- ? This is just a brief list that will hopefully get the ball rolling a little... PEACE and good trading, Commisso
'Zen and the art of making a living' is very good. Authors name escapes me. The psychology of finance, Tvede Runningbear
One that I would like to add is "Stress for Success" by James Loehr. He has a sports psychology business, and applies those methods to the business world. The goal is to maintain high levels of peak performance under stressfull conditions. Using stress to increase your capacity to deal with it, rather than reducing the stress levels in your life. Avoiding stress makes you less able to deal with it, not more able. Kevin
That is a very interesting approach to dealing with the hindrance of stress. There is a lot to be said for going to the edge of one extreme -- inorder to know its polar opposite. PEACE and goodtrading, Commisso
let me add to the list: 1. The elements of successful trading-Robert Rotella. This relatively unknown title covers all aspects of trading/markets with a superb section on psychology by a futures trader. 2. The disciplined trader-Douglas. his best treatise imo. 3. The inner game of trading-Koppell/Abell. One of the first books to stress the importance of psychology-modeled after that pop tennis book. 4. Exceptional trading, the mind game-Roosevelt. spotty but good and well written.
The premise is that you deal with stress better when you have cycles of stress and recovery. If you do not fully recover, then you are not prepared to deal with the next wave of stress. Stress is not what kills us, but continual stress, without recovery. Loehr also points out the need for daily rituals, that prepare us for the day, and put us in the best state of mind for high stress situations. Like the "performance on demand", or choke situations that the athletes deal with. Kevin
Thankyou for sharing Kevin I may check it out... The daily ritual is crucial for me! PEACE and good-trading, Commisso
Stockcowboy, Yes "The Disciplined Trader" had some real gems in it -- but I found it a little hard to read at times. Also I did like "The Inner-game" alot, but not as much as his later work... PEACE and good-trading, Commisso