No-one (or very few of us) are born with innate self-knowledge, and trading (as well as life itself) can be seen as a long journey to discover ourselves at the deepest level. This requires a constant process of self-analysis and adjustment, a circular process which is illustrated by the Gestalt Cycle shown below:

Whether it be on the micro-scale at the level of an individual trader, or the macro-level at the level of a trader’s entire career, the Gestalt cycle represents a framework for constant and continuous learning – which should be a key priority throughout your trading career. Just as the onboard navigation system on a passenger aircraft flies by making constant adjustments to maintain a constant flight path, so must the trader always analyse himself on both a conscious and subconscious level to ensure the continuous improvement of his or her trading performance.

But once we get into habit of becoming more sensitive and aware of our subconscious mind, we can then use the conscious mind to progress along the Gestalt cycle, and begin to mobilise ourselves. In this way, we can start to combine the power of our conscious and subconscious minds, and act in terms of managing these feelings, and using them as a powerful resource that we can call upon any time to reach our goals.

Important functions of emotions include:

Arousal – emotions cause us to move and take action.
Motivation – emotions provide the adrenalin to control behaviour.
Adaptive functions – emotional reactions help us cope with difficult situations and occur when we are under stress

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