Altering one’s beliefs can be an effective way to improve performance, but it requires a type of work that most people typically don’t anticipate.

Although beliefs, emotions, thoughts, perceptions, etc, all contribute to the end product, which is our behavior, let’s look at beliefs only for a moment.  The word “beliefs” gets tossed around quite easily. With many years of experience as a psychologist, I can tell you that changing or altering one’s beliefs is often more difficult than most realize. Rather than a theoretical debate concerning the definition of belief, I want to talk about practical, real world stuff based on years of professional experience as a psychologist.

Working with deep-seated beliefs is not as easy as most believe (pardon the pun). It’s one thing to work with what we think are our beliefs, the one’s we are consciously aware of. But for many reasons, it is entirely different to work with deep, sub-conscious beliefs. I’m not going to get into the all the reasons why, but will point out some of the important ones.

First, most people have limited, at best, understanding of what their subconscious beliefs are. Truly understanding one’s deep-seated beliefs is a potentially difficult task for many.  Typically, the deeper the belief the more work is required to get at it. I’m not going to get into specifics here, but will say that it requires extreme self-honesty, open-mindedness, willingness to be uncomfortable when identifying the beliefs, and a host of other ‘process’ oriented issues. The bottom line is that most of the beliefs that people find maladaptive or wish to change are usually very deep-seated and not easily worked with. Subsequently, there is the question of how to effectively alter or replace those beliefs in a way that is sustainable over time.

Over the years I’ve seen more and more people become ‘experts’ after reading a book or two, or becoming ‘certified’ in a particular system of belief change. There is nothing inherently wrong with that. The problem is that many of these systems don’t lead to lasting, sustained change. Adding new beliefs on top of a foundation of opposing deep-seated subconscious beliefs is generally not a good recipe for lasting change. Like building or re-modeling a house, you can’t ignore the foundation (which is usually underground and not seen).

Now, add the fact that as traders in the market our judgments are constantly being tested as we face constant uncertainty. It’s no wonder why ‘altering beliefs’ is so difficult for traders. I decided to work with traders because there is a huge need for experienced, knowledgeable guidance in this area.

On the front page of my web site, it reads: “Our beliefs, expectations, and emotions act as a filter on our perception of the market, our filter projects a structure onto price action that forms the basis for trade entries and exits. We don’t see the market itself, we see our projection. It is simply human nature to see things through our own personal filter.”

If you wish to work with your beliefs, please consider doing so in a comprehensive manner that will lead to lasting change. Otherwise, you may end up like the majority of folks who embark on a path to alter their beliefs only to see short-term benefits. In fact, based on what I’ve seen over many years, most people are unable to maintain lasting change for more then 3 months, and usually much shorter, as in weeks. It’s no coincidence that many traders can perform well for a period of time, weeks, maybe a few months, but end up right back where they started, or even worse sometimes. I have seen people successfully change their beliefs on their own, without guidance, but it requires herculean strength, a deep, personal resonance with the particular method or approach (meaningfulness),  and an unwavering commitment. Guidance from an experienced professional can save time, energy, and money.