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     ingot54
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Username: ingot54
Post Number: 2023
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| | Wednesday, November 21, 2007 - 10:40 am: |  
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Previously posted in: "My Most Successful Trading Strategy" and re-posted here on the suggestion of Peter1.
Hopefully it will attract some comment from those who have seen this "breaking from what we have been taught to fear" work in their own experience.
So here it is :
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I used to be a prolific word-smith on this site, and have recently begun to spin a few more yarns here.
But my most successful trading strategy has been to shut up - to focus on myself and what I was dong - right or wrong.
It is not possible to chase 2 rabbits.
Here is what I found:
I am better off than the rest of my siblings by far - why?
I am still not where I want to be - why?
Lotto winners mostly end up broke again - why?
I earn above the average income (better actually) of my friends - why?
It is not possible to focus on such issues while rabbiting along on a forum. I needed to be a bit more reclusive to focus on this stuff.
A good analolgy or two sometimes does the job better, though I will leave you to find your own responses:
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ANALOGY #1
You walk around town with $1 in your pocket.
No worries - you meet a few friends, chat awhile and go home.
You walk around town with $100 in your pocket - same result.
You walk around town with $1000 in your pocket.
You know where your wallet is at all times.
You can feel it.
You keep your hand on your back pocket when you stop to chat.
You go home.
You walk around town with $10,000 in your wallet.
You walk more briskly than usual.
You don't stop to chat.
Your hand never leaves the pocket the wallet is in.
You have $400,000 in a cashable bank cheque.
It has to get into the bank.
You don't go alone - you make sure you have a relative or two with you, and you ignore anyone you meet on the street - you go directly to the bank.
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ANALOGY #2
You have a very long ladder - the base is firmly set on a concrete step in such a way as it can not possibly slip. It reaches up to the roof of your split-level home actually over 15 metres.
Two strapping/strong men are holding the ladder so that it will not waver.
You step onto the bottom rung - you are able to stand there holding on with only one hand. Same thing happens with the second rung, and the third.
On the fourth rung you find you hold on with both hands ... it is now a big step down to the ground.
However, you climb rapidly to the 8th rung, step after step, confidently.
By the tenth rung, you are advancing one step at a time - holding tightly, and occasionally checking how far below you the ground is getting.
You are now just 5 metres above the ground - about half-way to the roof.
You advance another 2 rungs, and become aware of your heart - it is beating rapidly, and thumping around a bit! Your hands are feeling a bit clammy as the perspiration begins to appear.
You begin to question whether you really needed to get to the roof - after all this is a fair effort.
The ladder is still rock-steady - in fact it has not moved one centimetre.
You become aware there is a mild breeze blowing, and there are still 3 metres left to advance to the roof.
That roof looks very far away now ... you can advance only 2 rungs further ... then...!
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ANALOGY #3
You win $800,000 in Lotto! (Woo Hoo!)
You make plans to invest the capital and live from and re-invest the earnings, while you pursue your long-cherished hobby.
At first you keep it to yourself, and nothing much changes.
Then you share the news with a brother, who as it just so happens, needs a new car.
"Just $10,000 will do. I can trade in the old one to make up the difference."
Then your closest friend comes along with "this really good business idea - just $100,000 will set it up and we will be on the road to riches."
Your sister has been living in rental poverty - and has been saving to buy a house. She is $15,000 short of the deposit ..."
Your church has a new building programme "Just $20,000 will top it off..."
The charities have heard of your win ... "Just $5000 will feed/immunise/provide fresh water/housing/sanitation/a hospital ..."
And so on for months.
Most promise to "pay it back when ...!"
It is 7 months since your win. Your dream of investing the capital and re-investing the proceeds and living much more easily is ... where?
What has happened in the 3 analogies?
Could it be something to do with:
FEAR
PAIN
The power of "NO"
CHANGE
CHANGING FRIENDS
Something else?
Now you have a strategy ... for thinkers.
LEAP ... AND THE NET WILL APPEAR
WHEN THE STUDENT IS READY THE MASTER WILL APPEAR
Keep Smiling - Don't look back
Hell, there are no rules here - we're trying to accomplish something ~ Thomas A. Edison
Loss and failure are inevitable but misery is optional
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ingot54
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Username: ingot54
Post Number: 2024
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| | Wednesday, November 21, 2007 - 10:40 am: |
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The "Strategy" is no strategy at all.
The strategy is simply to change what you do and have darn good reasons for what you do.
"FEAR" evolves from previously experiencing "PAIN" - the more pain, the stronger the fear. Soon fear will exist or manifest merely from the suggestion or association with previously painful events.
The strategy is to recognise this.
The strategy is to deal with it.
How?
I invite you once again, to think.
Why would having $400,000 cashable Bank Cheque in your possession increase your fear, over what you might feel from carrying only $1?
Why would you feel any less secure at the top of a stable and perfectly secure ladder, than you do on the bottom rung?
Why do people dream for years of winning lotto, and when they do get that windfall, eventually end up exactly as they were before ... only worse - some want to kill themselves - when they realise they had their chance and blew it!
Think, dear reader.
Something has to change ... it must.
A final analogy:
When we were born into a family (most of us) we became a part of the family circle.
We were fed information by the family, and believed implicitly every word we were told - 100% truth.
Our brain takes this up in many forms - ego/superego/emotions/belief system/conscious and subconscious memory/attitude/demeanor and character to mention a few of them.
Later in life - generally after the age of 35yrs - 40 yrs - when most of us are strongly set in our ways, and strongly (generally) resistant to change, it begins to dawn on us that there may be more than we have been led to believe.
For example - most become thoroughly sick and tired of the cycle of having sufficient money/not enough money - plenty of time/not enough time and so on.
A desire to break out of the Family circle of beliefs is conceived, but suddenly, right at that point something intervenes to stop us.
Its name is FEAR.
Fear of PAIN which accompanies CHANGE.
Human beings naturally tend to AVOID pain but SEEK pleasure.
This does, in the general course of events, get us into quite a bit of bother at times.
So how do we avoid this?
Too easy - just EMBRACE CHANGE!
Either that, or stay in poverty - free choice.
The poor bloke who won $800,000 in Lotto could NOT change - he could not say "NO" and he could NOT change his friends. Little wonder that he rejoined them at their end of the poverty spectrum.
CHANGE.
Get yours today - comes free with a "BURNING DESIRE" thrown in.
Act now, before the Christmas rush.
Keep Smiling - Don't look back
Hell, there are no rules here - we're trying to accomplish something ~ Thomas A. Edison
Loss and failure are inevitable but misery is optional
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ingot54
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Username: ingot54
Post Number: 2033
Registered: 05-2004
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| | Thursday, November 22, 2007 - 09:15 am: |
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Esoteric and ethereal approaches to old problems abound in this New Age generation. So much of it is "If-I-can-not-apply-it-now-I-will-just-discard-it."
I invite you to read and take what you will.
______________________________________________________
Fear Is Limited By Space and Time, Thus Easy To End
By David Cameron Gikandi (John Google will tell you where to get more of D C Gikandi)
Fear has given the human race a difficulty since the beginning of time. Countless people have gone as far as failing to proceed with aspects of their lives simply because of fear, and countless more have been trapped needlessly in suffering simply because of fear.
How do you best release yourself from that which you fear, big or small?
What is the fastest, most effective way to overcome fear?
Well, I have a solution here for you that is very fast, very effective (in fact, it is guaranteed to work). You can apply it to all your fears, big or small.
Before I tell you how to do it, let us briefly look at some obvious characteristics of fear.
In terms of time, fear is future-based. In other words, if you look at any of your fears, they are always about something that isn't happening right Here, right Now at this exact moment. Fear cannot possibly exist about something that is in your present. It is always a, "What will happen to me if..." construct.
Even if someone were to put a gun to your head right now, you would fear the possibility that in the very near future they will pull the trigger. That is why a threat is no longer effective once it is carried out. Fear is always about something that hasn't happened yet (it may be just about to happen, but it hasn't happened yet).
You also don't fear things that have already happened, things that are in the past. So that is the time-based nature of fear, or worry.
In terms of space, fear is finite. It occupies a limited space with boundaries.
If you focus on that area only, fear can encompass your entire attention to the point that all you are thinking about is your fears and you completely forget that life has many more things that are far greater that the limited item you fear. If you step back a little, you will see the bigger picture, and your fear will lessen simply because your attention will not be 100% on your fear.
Imagine that you have 100 attention units to dedicate. If you dedicate all 100 to that which you fear, you will be encompassed by your fears. If you step back and look at the bigger picture, you will automatically be dedicating less attention units to that which you fear.
Now, let us complete the technique. How do you best release yourself from that which you fear, big or small?
What is the fastest, most effective way to overcome fear?
It is as simple as this: adjust your space-time perspective. That's it. If you mess with the space-time characteristics of your fear, you will automatically denature it.
Here is the exact way of doing that, step-by-step:
Step 1: Draw whatever you fear into the Here, Now.
For example, let us assume that you are worries about losing your job or your spouse. That is a future event. Now, pretend that it has happened already. That instantly eliminates your having to dodge it, to avoid it. It enables you to stop fighting to avoid it happening. So, close your eyes and completely pretend it has happened already. That which you fear is no longer in the future, but it has now happened already.
Step 2: Feel the feelings you would feel assuming it has happened.
Is it shame, anger, vulnerability, grief, embarrassment? What feelings would you feel if it happens? As you draw the future into the present and fully pretend it has happened allow yourself to feel absolutely everything that you imagine you would feel if that which you fear actually happened. Whatever it is you are avoiding feeling if that which you fear were to happen, feel it now.
Step 3: Accept it and yourself.
This is the key step. Now that it has happened, accept things as they are, and accept yourself as you are. Stop dodging, pretending or trying to change life. Just accept. Look inwards and say, "Jane (or whatever your name is), you are a worthy, good, acceptable person as you are, even as these things have happened, and I am proud to be you and happy to know you and spend my life with you. I accept you as you are, and I accept life as it is, and I accept
these feelings as they are."
Step 4: Embrace the unknown.
One of the key features of fear is that you are afraid of what will happen if that which you fear comes to be. Solve this problem by simply embracing the unknown. Admit that life is larger than what you know, and that what you don't know isn't a dangerous thing necessarily, even though your fears may tell you it is. The unknown is your friend. Tell yourself that even if you don't know what lies in the unknown, and you will never know until you pass through it, you will be able to go through it OK, even if you don't know how.
Life will just happen. Feel the fear but do it anyway.
I guarantee you that if you follow this formula you will be amazed at its effectiveness. Just try it on the little fears at first and practice and practice and practice until you can easily apply it on any fear of any size at any time, automatically. Practice makes perfect. At first it may be hard but in time you will become fearless.
Keep Smiling - Don't look back
Hell, there are no rules here - we're trying to accomplish something ~ Thomas A. Edison
Loss and failure are inevitable but misery is optional
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pse
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Username: pse
Post Number: 101
Registered: 10-2007Rating: N/A
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| | Thursday, November 22, 2007 - 10:27 am: |
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ingot
i hear u but not so sure.
what about the mind-body connection?
yes mind can influence body, but body can also influence mind.
for some (perhaps even all of us!! - when we look into the abyss and find nothing staring back at us), fear has gone beyond cognition, it has managed over decades, generations, to penetrate genetics/physiology.
so it no longer matters, for such a person, what they think, fear has become physiologically based, just like the heart beat - try stopping that with your mind - few can do it.
i also doubt your technique will be much use to those being tortured in a gulag.
having said this,the cognitive approach will benefit a good % of the population.
- peter
"TRADE WHAT IS, NOT WHAT MIGHT BE"
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ingot54
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| | Thursday, November 22, 2007 - 01:19 pm: |
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Good reflections Peter -
I don't know how good this stuff is - but Gikandi is no dill and his stuff has been thoroughly circulated in the New Age Latte Cafe's so there must be an acid test to see how effective such a technique can be.
Personally I have evolved another approach which works for me.
It involves simply looking ahead to a time when the problem will be solved / or is no longer a threat.
I tell myself: "In 3 weeks this will no longer be having the impact it is having right now, so in reality, it is just a matter of time before things settle down."
It works for me. Some of the most traumatic things that hurt me have been dealt with like this, and it does definitely neutralise their impact on the "here and now".
When I define fear, I do so within a framework of time and perceived or real damage that may result. My level of anxiety will be affected according to my perception of the results.
But I am such a strong believer in my personal ability to overcome ANY obstacle that does not kill me, that I can take a step back and usually work out an approach to neutralise and eliminate the threat, if not the effects as well.
Anxiety is different from fear, but the two are usually found in the same bathtub. Once you deal with one of them, you neutralise the other.
I think at first the mind/body response (autonomic nervous system / somatic system) will be responding to the fright-fight-flight cycle. But once a mechanism is developed to deal with this in a conscious way, the nervous system/body system response is damped down to a manageable level.
I think every one of us can control our heart-rates.
It is done through deep breathing.
Try this:
1) Count your pulse for 15 seconds and then multiply by 4 to get the rate per minute.
2) Take a slow deep breath in ... hold it for 5 seconds, and slowly release it over 10 seconds.
If you can not hold your breath for the 5 seconds, or breathe out over 10 seconds - don't fret - just do whatever you can - the purpose is to control the breath, not win a competition.
3) Repeat the breathing cycle slowly over 5 cycles.
4) Count pulse again.
I would be very surprised if there was no reduction in rate - with practice, the heart rate can be brought right down, and at the same time, a lot of anxiety is dispelled.
This is nothing new - meditation gurus have been teaching this stuff for centuries, but it is as valid today as it ever was.
Regarding the gulag ... hmmm ... I think we're gonna need some help!
I think Eric might have an angle on this, if he is around.
Keep Smiling - Don't look back
Hell, there are no rules here - we're trying to accomplish something ~ Thomas A. Edison
Loss and failure are inevitable but misery is optional
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pse
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Username: pse
Post Number: 103
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| | Thursday, November 22, 2007 - 01:45 pm: |
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ingot
what u say is true but i think only in "some" situations.
it wont work in the midst of extreme situations: torture, war, severe physical or emotional distress.
there is no escaping "dukka" in an essential sense, it can only be managed - this at best, leaves one simultaneously holding both peace and suffering, in such situations.
- peter
"TRADE WHAT IS, NOT WHAT MIGHT BE"
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gdd3
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Username: gdd3
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| | Thursday, November 22, 2007 - 02:09 pm: |
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Ingot54 and PSE...well done to both for reconfirming what was explained to me many moons ago and that is, FEAR simply really is/means:-
F...alse
E...ducation
A...ppearing
R...eal
Well in some of your examples anyway!....personal hangups.
Dolphin
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ingot54
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Username: ingot54
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| | Thursday, November 22, 2007 - 02:11 pm: |
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Conditioned responses (Monkey see - Monkey do, a la Family Circle Teachings from early childhood) tend to remain with us for life, unless consciously worked through.
Why would one soldier in the trenches burst over the top, firing and running as he charged at the enemy, while back in the trenches, another is still taking deep breaths, trying to muster the courage to follow. (Here insert the bit about the reporter getting shot, so we never get to find out if the soldier DID overcome his fear and in like manner, burst over the top, firing and running as he ...!)
This does not explain why one soldier acts completely out of character - despite his intense fear he performs above and beyond ... !
Later his colleagues were amazed that this previously timid fellow was able to ... !
There is something innate that goes deeper than nature and nurture - it is the spirit of man (woman for the Greerists). The spark that lights a fire that WILL burn against all efforts to douse it.
Of course we only get to hear about the one who triumphed - we don't get to hear about the failed heroes - they unfortunately will not be coming back to tell their brave tale ... but it is still a brave tale.
"Trying is the first step to Failure" ~ Homer Simpson ca 1997
No guarantees ... but no turning back.
Keep Smiling - Don't look back
Hell, there are no rules here - we're trying to accomplish something ~ Thomas A. Edison
Loss and failure are inevitable but misery is optional
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ingot54
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Username: ingot54
Post Number: 2036
Registered: 05-2004
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| | Thursday, November 22, 2007 - 02:47 pm: |
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GDD3
Thanks for bringing that one to mind - it was a great insight when I first heard it.
John Google also mentions these:
False Evidence Appearing Real
False Expectations Appearing Real
False Education Appearing Real (a good link)
False Emotions Appearing Real (one of the best links ever)
False Experience Appearing Real
There was one other, but this is a family channel and we don't need to know everything.
Keep Smiling - Don't look back
Hell, there are no rules here - we're trying to accomplish something ~ Thomas A. Edison
Loss and failure are inevitable but misery is optional
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