Hypnosis for Trading: How to Use it to Improve Performance // Ep. 79

In This Episode

• Why hypnosis goes way beyond stage shows and staring at candles
• Hypnosis tracks we use
• What hypnosis can do to improve your trading

Leverage Hypnosis to Improve Your Trading Performance

Hypnosis is an often misunderstood tool that can be used to improve performance in any area of life. What most people think of as hypnosis is what they've seen in stage shows, or on TV. But if you really look into the scientific studies behind hypnosis, you'll find that it really works.

Watch this episode to find out which tools we use and what real hypnosis can do for you.

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Read the Transcript

Hugh:    Hi, Walter. I am interested to hear your experience with hypnosis and hypnotic therapy.

Walter:    Sure. When I was a freshman in college, first year college, I decided that I was going to learn about the stuff that I was interested in. So my textbooks, I spent a little bit of time on those. What I really did was I went to the library and I read about a lot of interesting things that I was interested in and then I ordered some books. One of the books is on hypnosis.

So then I became known in the dorm in college, and I was kind of known as the hypnosis guy. People were coming and asked me to hypnotize them. It is totally not like this is not cool, right? I didn’t know what to do but I just knew not to be dangerous. I would get a candle. I would light the candle and I would have the person stare at the candle. I would tire the optic nerve. I would get the optic nerve tired. I knew that was one way to get someone to relax and stuff.

I did that. A lot of times girls are like, “Ah, I want to eat vegetables.” I would hypnotize them and put suggestions for them to eat more vegetables. So that was kind of my introduction to it and then I did itt for myself too for different things. Like, I want to improve my surfing or whatever certain thing I was working on.

When I came to Australia, I found a hypnotherapist. I want her to help me too. It is interesting because she asked me how I have had an experience with hypnotizing. I said, “Yeah, I hypnotized” She was like, “Really? What did you do?” I told her the story I just told you. Then she goes, “There’s much more efficient ways than looking at a candle”. “Ahh, this is going to be really good”.

Hugh:    Hey there! I hope you find this episode useful. I just want to let you know that Walter and I give away something valuable every month that helps traders improve their skills. You can enter to win by simply leaving an iTunes review and leaving a comment on our YouTube videos.

At the end of each month, we'll look at the comments and reviews from the month and we'll pick a winner at random. Each comment and each review counts for one entry during the month that it's pitted.

So, if you're interested in that, be sure to enter after this podcast is over. Alright, back to the episode.

Walter:    She then recorded a session and she gave me a CD of her voice. So that you could use it for any goals. You would just think of the goal and listen to the hypnosis thing. I thought that was really fascinating. I used it quite a bit and then I got into a more tailored one for trading. I got one of those and it was pretty bad because it did not really apply to Forex traders.

So then I wrote to the guy, actually we had a mutual friend and I said, “Can you please make one for Forex traders because the one for traders sucks for Forex traders.” It is no good, you know. The suggestions were not quite right for Forex. He goes, “Okay, Do you want to write it?” I go, “Yeah.”

So I helped him write it out. That one is at hypnosis download. It is Hypnosis for Currency Traders I think is what it is called. I will put a link so you can get it because it is cheaper if you get it through us.

Anyway the point is, that is another good one too. That is a way for you to encourage the habit and the approach that you want in your trading. I think hypnosis is pretty cool. What is interesting about it to me is that people talk about hypnosis and meditation as if it’s differ but really I think it is pretty similar.

In meditation you have a mantra. One of my mentors is really into it. He got into it in the seventies and he was saying that he has this mantra that he would use. You can kind of do the similar thing with hypnosis for if you are in a meditative state and your mantra is kind of like the goal that you are working on.

To me they are really similar and if you’ll look into the brain during them, they should be similar too. Especially if someone who is a little bit practiced in it and they are not newbies that they didn’t know what they are doing. They would get into similar brain states.

So I think it is really good for using it to get into a nice state of mind for doing some work that you want to do. Whether it is writing or looking at charts or whatever. It is also really good if you want to work on an outcome.

For example, my thing when I first started trading was moving stop losses when I should just leave them. Let the market hit it or not. So that would have been a good candidate for hypnosis. It is for me to consider that and think about that. If you have problems pulling the trigger, that is a really good candidate for hypnosis.

If you are trading for a lower win rate strategy or you trade too often like really compulsive, that is another good one you know, a good candidate for hypnosis. All of those sorts of things would work really well. Hypnosis works really well with things like overeating and smoking and you know breaking habits and things like that. So it certainly does work well with trading as well. That is kind of how I see it. I put it in a category of like fixing your issues.

I am sorry. The reason why I keep getting distracted looking outside is because my neighbors keep putting their rubbish in my rubbish bin. I keep looking at the window and go, “Why are you putting your rubbish in my rubbish bin.” Today is rubbish day and in the morning, the trucks come in and everything.

We’ve got a nice empty rubbish bin out there and I’ve just watched three people walk by. I think sometimes they are just like walking by but one of them is the neighbor for sure. I am like, “What is going on?” Sorry. I keep looking over because I am thinking, “What are you doing?” Anyways, let’s get to our case.

Hugh:    People who are new to hypnosis like some people think it is like an office-based thing. They can do one session and they tell you the difference. So maybe you can walk people through how gradual that is and how it is not like a one-shot deal.

Walter:    In fact, when I was in the dorms as an eighteen year old in college, they had one of those hypnosis shows come. You know what they do, you are a chicken and I was one of the guys. He got me up there and I remember him saying, he said “It will last thirty days”. It kind of wears off or whatever. One of the first hypnosis CD’s that I bought, they would say you’ve got to listen to it everyday for like thirty to sixty days.

It is sort of like you know, when you are a kid you keep on hearing, “Money does not grow on trees. Money does not grow on trees. Money does not grow on trees.” Your parents say that and that is repeated over and over again. You get that in your head. It is kind of the same thing with hypnosis where you get these suggestions.

You cannot just say it to someone. It is rare that you would meet someone one time, they would say something to you and you will remember it for your life. It does happen but it is pretty rare. The things that you will usually remember are the things that are kind of repeated over and over. Those become like you know, committed to memory. It is your programming, basically.

Hugh:    It is scary if you will just, if somebody told you to do something once and you start doing it.

Walter:    Imagine that. Imagine if that would be the case. It’ll be a mess. It would be a mess literally. Every time we went to a restaurant or whatever and someone said, “Go and sit on that corner.” Every time you go there, you’ll sit on the corner. Do you know what I mean? Imagine if that kind of thing happened. It would be a mess. It is good that we do not take directions well.

Hugh:    Okay, cool. Thanks, Walter.

Walter:    Thank you!

Hugh:    All the information in this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and is not trading or investment advice.

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