What is the NLP

In recent years, many studies have been published on the psychology of trading, but these never offer advice on how to put this information into practice. It is said that about 90% of trading is all in our heads; let’s find out if this is really the case!

NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) is nothing but your natural learning process. It opens your mind to endless possibilities and ways to improve your life. It allows you to gain greater awareness and self-control. It can help you manage your stress and develop more confidence in yourself.

It was created by Richard Bandler (Gestalt therapist) and John Grinder (linguist and therapist) in California, in the '70s. Their common purpose was to develop powerful techniques that could change behaviour quickly and effectively.

NLP is a decidedly modern science based on the optimisation of our thinking, which was developed as a way to emulate the excellence of others. It is a tool that derives from emotional intelligence (EI) and is part of the theory of multiple intelligences. The idea that intelligence can only be based on an IQ test is too limiting, thus, it is necessary to have a more global notion of the term.

I want to help you improve your trading by reaching a greater understanding of the main factors of NLP, which will help you set aside your preconceptions and reprogram your decision-making when you plan and place your trades.

Since there is no “recognised” definition of NLP, it has been defined in many ways: “science that explains how the brain encodes learning and experience,” “a way of reproducing the structure of another person's subjective experience,” “a manual for your brain.”

How can NLP help you? You will be wondering how NLP can help you in your trading activity. Here, listed below, are some of the many ways. NLP will help you to:

• understand what makes certain traders up to 10, 50 or 100 times more successful than you (motivation is not the only answer)
• learn precise techniques, used by the best traders to achieve their most exciting goals;
• take advantage of your positive emotions and moods to improve your inner success (we all have it, it is enough to know how to use it);
• overcome the preconceptions throwing up that throw up roadblocks in hour trading, in order to understand how you can use your energy to build a successful trading mindset;
• learn to stay motivated and positive every day;
• understand why and how you react to different trading situations;
• free yourself from the negative experiences of the past that make you avoid certain market positions;
• learn to “emulate” the best traders by identifying the mechanisms that make them successful. Warning: it will not suffice to copy their techniques without understanding the logic behind them;
• improve the effectiveness and productivity of your trading, which will, in turn, improve your earnings.

NLP helps you understand how you can control your mind, and consequently, your results (not the other way around).

Let’s start with a bit of history. In the '70s Richard Bandler was studying at the University of Santa Cruz, California (USA) when he met John Grinder. They began to pursue a curiosity they had about what differentiated excellent therapists from others. This led them to develop a system known as “modelling.”

This enabled them to study three of the world’s leading therapists. Dr Milton Erickson, who specialises in medical hypnosis and family therapy, developed the Ericksonian hypnosis. Fritz Perls, the creator of Gestalt therapy, helps people become non-critical and more aware of themselves. And Virginia Satir, a modern family therapist, is famous for being named one of the world's most influential people in 1982. And the NLP came to life!

But what does Neuro-Linguistic Programming mean?

NEURO means “of the mind.” Neuro integrates three different fields of neurology. It refers to how we process information from the outside world. Through the five senses, our brain and nervous system filter, delete, distort and generalise this information, turning it into experiences.

LINGUISTIC means “the language we use.” It refers to the linguistic systems in our minds, both verbal and non-verbal, that we use to organise and attribute meaning to our internalised representations of the world.

Language can stimulate and shape the activity of your nervous system. Your linguistic choices often and willingly reflect your dominant senses.

The three most crucial senses can be summarised in the acronym VAK (Visual, Auditory, Kinaesthetic).

PROGRAMMING means “to program the mind.” It is based on the idea that the processes of learning, memory and creativity are programmed to achieve specific results.

Programs that run in your mind are the result of the reactions and interpretations of your experiences throughout life.

The good news is that these programs can be edited. They are found in our unconscious minds within their neurological structures. To make a comparison, think of them as software that allows a computer to work. By cancelling, upgrading or formatting our mental software, we can change the way we think and consequently, how we react to situations.