Recent content by Dr. M. Woodruff Johnson

Emotions...they are part of the essentials of what make you human; as essential as the importance of opposable thumbs; for without emotions, as with your thumbs, you would not have the same quality and flexibility of responses. Now, what is interesting is that some traders labor under the false...

By learning about the beliefs that guide our trading, carefully defining a set of effective trading rules, and closely adhering to them, we can avoid costly pitfalls and achieve more consistent results. Humans, you and I, have been programmed. This programming began in infancy and continues...

I’m sure that most of you have at least a cursory understanding of mindfulness meditation if not an actual practice in the ancient art. That’s because mindfulness meditation is enjoying, along with other forms of meditation, somewhat of a resurgence. Many scholars, academics, trainers...

Mindfulness, over the past few years, has become synonymous with meditation. Now, that doesn’t mean that all who read this missive will know that to be true. In fact, there are still great numbers of people, traders included, who have no clue that this is so. Additionally, when the word...

Like all things in life, the trade begins in the mind of the trader. Nothing exists outside of nature that didn’t begin as a thought. In other words, every-thing began as a thought first…every building, invention, device or concept started in someone’s mind. Additionally, virtually everything...

‘You can’t change what you can’t face, and you can’t face what you don’t know.’ This obscure but very important quote was coined by my friend, Jackie in a conversation we had some years ago. We were discussing the challenges that all humans face with initiating and managing change. Within...

I have often discussed how awareness or the lack thereof is profoundly important to trading. About 95% of everything that goes on in your brain and mind is out of your awareness. Just consider that your unconscious brain is responsible for all the communication between cells, organs, muscles...

Have you ever felt down and out; like life itself was falling from you and it seemed like a major effort just to take care of the everyday mundane things? Of course you have it’s called being human. No one that I have ever encountered in person or in the media has been perfect. No one has...

Discomfort is a human condition. From conception, our system continuously undergoes cell division and development of blood, bone, tissue, nerves, muscle, internal organs and brain cells that make life outside the womb and eventual survival possible. In the first few years the level of growth...

There it is, that unfinished Macro Trade Plan that you committed to finishing before your next live trade, that stack of books that you promised yourself you’d read and the list of unfinished to-dos that go back weeks. You find yourself thinking, “What is wrong with me, why can’t I follow...

The power of beliefs is a double-edged sword that can cut both ways. It can help you and it can hurt you. Take the placebo effect and the fact that physicians have been doling out sugar pills forever with amazing results. Or, I’m sure you’ve no doubt heard about people that were diagnosed with...

I believe that I can say the following without equivocation… throngs of traders around the planet continue to do the same disastrous things over and over while continuing to expect different results. They are moving stops, chasing trades, doubling down on losers, exiting trades prematurely and...

Have you ever initiated a “revenge” trade? Most traders are well aware of this issue; but some of you may need an explanation. What is Revenge Trading? A revenge trade is a reaction to one or more losses. Let’s say that you had a good profit run of a couple of months. Your gains were in the...

Your trading has a lot of nuances; those small or seemingly insignificant behaviors that in the final analysis make big differences. Consider the documentation process. Firstly, let’s acknowledge that it is critical to measure and keep a scorecard for your trades. If you are not measuring and...

Your brain is the most awesome mechanism in the Universe … as we know it. Babies, both pre- and post-natal are metaphorical sponges of data and information. Also, brains have the ability to adapt to disease and injury by having one part of the brain take over the functions of another part of the...