The winds of grace are always blowing, but you have to raise the sail.”
--Sri Ramakrishna, nineteenth-century Indian saint

If the winds of grace are always blowing, how do we raise our sails when we trade? We tell ourselves the truth about what is going on. We understand good trading principles, and we follow them. We are careful to make helpful interpretations regarding our behaviors and results.

We search for and tell the truth. If the market is going down, we say out loud the market is going down. If it’s going up we state clearly and audibly the market is going up. If it’s going nowhere or turning around, we say that. If we’re losing more than we’re making, we say so. If we’re making more than we’re losing we affirm that.

We’ve written a set of guidelines for entries and exits and for money management, and we follow them. We utilize discipline, courage, consistency, clear perception, and optimism.

We are careful about the interpretations we give ourselves. I’ve written many times, and I’m not alone, that it isn’t so much what happens to you in life or trading but the interpretation you give to it that really matters. You do well, what do you think? Do you say it can’t last, or do you note what you’re doing and plan to do more of that? You have a bad day/week/ month/etc. trading. What do you tell yourself? Your stop gets hit. What do you say? You make an error. What’s your conclusion? You’ve paid $5,000 for a mentor to teach you his system, but it isn’t working. What do you think? A thousand other unpleasant ramifications occur. What is your interpretation?

Perhaps you said some of the following in the negative instances:

· There I go again.

· I can’t do this.

· It can’t be done.

· They’re out to get me.