Page 13 - Module 2_The_Human_Element

Module 2 -Lesson 2 – five steps in goalsetting

1. counteract fear and stress

The following is extracts from the book “The PSHYCHOLOGY of TECHNICAL ANALYSIS” written by
Tony Plummer. To counteract the problems of fear and stress, it is necessary to adopt both an
attitude and a lifestyle, which are conducive to regular trading.

First, a trader must be quite clear about his or her objectives, or goals, when making a commitment
to trade markets regularly.

Second, the trader must be
able to sustain the effort
necessary to maintain that
commitment.

And third, the trader must
have a suitable method for
achieving the pre-
determined objectives.
These three requirements
may be referred to
collectively by the
mnemonic GEM. Namely,
Goals, Effort, Method. (Figure 1) Figure 1 – Goals, Effort, Method

Stress and negative emotions are essentially caused by a divergence between expectations concerning an
outcome and the actual outcome itself: either people don’t get what they want, or they get what they don’t
expect.
Furthermore, expectations may have nothing to do with articulated
desires: they may be deeply rooted, and little understood,
requirements of the subconscious.

Hence in Figure 2 – Goal - not only is the area representing
achievements much smaller than the circle representing ‘expectations’,
but it also lies partly outside of that circle.

Figure 2 – Goal

2. Goal setting has two clear results

There is an old proverb, which says: if you aim at nothing, that’s exactly what you will hit! The
implication is that it is vital to aim at something specific.

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