Quote from Mike805:
For fear of sounding like a mindless "dude" I can relate much of my athletic experience with trading. During high school and college I surfed competitively. Yes, I know it sounds silly to some of you who live removed from the ocean, but, here in coastal CA, surfing is actually quite developed as a profession. There are a handful who make an OK living via surfing.
Well, what does this have to do with being in the "zone"? Two things: an extra level of awareness and a subconscious ability to react given your surroundings. I've been surfing for over 16 years and via surfing I am quite familiar with the zone. From spending so much time in the water, my subconscious abilities became very well developed both in ocean knowledge and surfing form.
My knowledge base grew in reading conditions, swell direction, knowing a particular surf spot as it receives a swell from a certain angle with a certain period ~ all this knowledge (while acquired through years of surfing) doesn't really mean much when actually being in the water and catching a wave. I personally relate this to having all the theory and "knowledge" of market dynamics as opposed to actually having the skill required to trade/surf effectively.
The act of catching a wave, much like executing a good trade has all the same emotion/intuition involved. I am able to read the market clearly and without thought, I anticipate my signal approaching and I execute knowing the result before hand. Patience is the key. I wait patiently for a good wave as I do for a good trade signal. Wave selection in competition accounts for 50% of your score, if you aren't patient and wait for the better wave, your opponent will beat you even though his surfing ability may not be as developed. Simply put, the ocean doesn't always produce good quality, it takes years to identify quality waves and even longer to combine the "identify" aspect with the "execute" ability.
While surfing, I can see a wave approaching, while completely ignoring the crowd and other distractions I paddle into the correct position, position myself correctly in the peak (the point of the wave that is just about to break) and as the swell starts to produce momentum for me, I pop up. I know right away if this is going to be a good wave. The "pop-up" and execution on the wave (i.e. turns and maneuvers) are not preconceived, they are simple reactions to what my environment (i.e. the wave) is producing. There is no thinking, I hear almost nothing, there is no foresight, just pure reaction combined with ingrained muscle memory response. More than 80% of my surf sessions I experience this type of stimulus. The other 20% my mind is distracted, I am worried about family, women, something trivial like a unpaid bill, other times I am hungover and I cannot focus on my surroundings and I have a poor session. The same applies when I trade. The experiences are similar from a mental awareness/clarity requirement. Given challenging conditions the physical aspects of surfing are very demanding and frankly, physical fitness is a higher prerequisite. However, the mental aspects of trading are by far the most challenging I have encountered.
As a side note: for all you attempting to learn to trade; It took me over 6 years to become what I consider a "competent" surfer (i.e. I feel comfortable in most ocean conditions). I believe it takes at least that long, if not longer to become a "competent" trader. Its a simple matter of experience.
