Principle 4: Confidence Without the Ego

Grand rising and welcome to New Mind, where our intention is clear and is to share information for transformation. Thank you for being here. Thank you for taking the time to show up for yourself, to continue developing and learning and expanding your consciousness so that you can create a life of freedom and a life of joy, and more importantly, a life on your terms. So as we continue this series of 7 principles, I want to remind you that if you haven't listened to the previous principles, please go and listen to them, make notes, take those actionable insights. But today we're going to go straight into principle number 4. And this is really an important principle. And I'm here to remind you guys that all of these are not in a particular order, but there are principles. And I named them principles because they are things that I've extracted over the years working with traders that has really moved the needle. So this is why they almost give you this holistic approach and holistic guidance of where you're at and to measure each principle of where you're at and what work is required for you, et cetera. So let's continue with principle number 4 today. And that is in this episode, and that is the energy of conviction. And it's confidence without ego. So when I say conviction, literally it is that sense of confidence but without the ego. Because ego, I'm sure you know if you're a trader, it always tends to get in the way, um, in many aspects of our trading. And it's important that we become aware of that. So my intention with here is to clarify what that means. What is conviction and how do we develop it in our, in our, in our reality? Now the most important thing, conviction Again, isn't about shouting louder than the market or being stubborn. Conviction is quiet, it's steady, it's grounded. And, you know, I say this all the time, ego screams, conviction whispers. So this is really important sort of as a setting, setting the tone for this episode is to sort of differentiate between the two. And it starts with, first of all, understanding, you know, Wait, how do I know that I'm acting out of ego or I'm acting out of conviction here? Remember, ego is not really necessarily the enemy, but it can be sometimes. It can work for us and it can work against us. But in the context of trading, it usually is working against us, unfortunately, because ego wants to be right. And conviction on the other hand wants to stay aligned. I'll repeat that one more time. Ego wants to be right. Conviction wants to stay aligned. And there's a big problem in our traders today. And we all know this. And it's the overconfidence, right? But overconfidence, when we talk about it, it's patented by this ego, right? So this ego or confidence usually comes from fear, fear of being wrong or fear of missing out, right? But also it's the sense of arrogance that I want to prove myself. I want to show the world that I, that I'm good. I want to show the world that I'm able to perform. I'm able to deliver these results. I'm, you know, and, and unfortunately Most traders, when they get in that, you know, we call this sometimes beginner's luck, or they have this streak, all of a sudden it gets to their head, right? And there's a— it gets their head, and if they— and then if they lose the ball, then fear kicks in, right? But for me, what's important for, for highlighting in this principle is conviction is what we want to develop. Conviction is built through preparation. It's built through studying. It's built through journaling. And It's a, it's a process. You are refining this process all the time. And that is conviction that comes through. Conviction is a different type of confidence. It's not driven by ego. And this is really, really important. And, you know, when I say that, I want you to reflect, like reflect in your aspect of your trading. Do you feel that you have ego when you trade? Are you trying to prove something right? Or do you feel that you have conviction in what you're doing? And how do we differentiate that? How do we know that is usually if you have a wrong trade or you make an error or one trade doesn't go against you, if there's conviction, you don't get shaken by it. You don't get shaken by it at all. You stay and you stick to the process. And really conviction shows up in consistency. It's almost always a measurement to your discipline and consistency. And it's not in calling, you know, tops or bottoms. It's, it's nothing to do with that. It's more about, you know, discipline, sustainability, and the ability to not allow anything outside of you when something doesn't go according to plan. You're not falling into that ego trap because ego is always looking to prove something. And I, and I want you to understand that, like, you have to reflect with yourself if you're a trader listening to this, or even if you're not a trader, because that is literally where conviction and ego You know, it's, it's across life in general actually. But conviction— remember, ego is always trying to prove something. Conviction, it trades from a place of clarity. It operates from a place of clarity. It operates from a place of knowing. And we're going to get into that a bit more deeper in one of the other principles as well when we get in touch into intuition, because people think intuition is spiritual. And I'm going to get into understanding how you develop that. But conviction feels calm. You know, it's, it's, it's a sense of calmness in the body. Your nervous system is grounded. There's no anxiousness. There's no sense of rush. And that is what conviction does. And it's super, super important. When I've worked with traders, I've noticed the traders that continue to succeed, the traders that get better at what they're doing, they have a lot of conviction in what they're doing. They know that it's not ego that's taking over. There is a very subtle confidence, but it's not driven by ego, it's driven by conviction. And that determines, and that shows in their, in their, um, in their behaviors, right? One thing you will know if you're a person of conviction as a trader, you will be patient. You'll be willing to wait for the right setup instead of forcing one. That is conviction because it's not run by fear of missing out. It's more run by a sense of trust in this process, a sense of, of knowing, right? And it's so super important to remember also conviction doesn't attach to an outcome. It trusts the process. It's not going— it's nothing to do with your self-worth. It's nothing to do with, with how good you are. That's coming back to the ego, the identity. It's out of that entire aspect. It's out of that completely. It's more about you having conviction in what you're doing. And that also stems from how much do you trust yourself, right? This is really important. So the more you trust yourself, the more you have less doubt in, in yourself, the more conviction you will have. And also the more you have that routine, that discipline, the, the things you're doing over and over again, repeat. That is also super important because that develops the conviction in your life and in your trading. Right? And, and again, what are the things that are you, you're doing in your life today, in your trading, that is going to add to conviction in your day-to-day? Again, as I mentioned earlier, journaling, following specific processes, having routines, priming your mind prior to starting the trade, um, not rushing, sticking to your rules— all of these behaviors will contribute towards you having more conviction in, in yourself and in, in the, in the decisions you're making, uh, in your trading. And also, like, you know, I've seen a lot of traders before, both in, in the traders I've worked with and outside, where there is the sense of arrogance, right? Um, and unfortunately, when there's arrogance, then you know it's driven by ego. But when they're grounded, they're subtle, they don't have to show off what they're doing, that is more a sense of conviction and a sense of grounded trust and authentic confidence in what they're doing, right? And conviction doesn't mean you're always right, by the way, just to be very clear. It means you follow your rules, right? Let me repeat that one more time. Conviction doesn't mean you're always right. It means you are following your rules, you're sticking to the process. Um, we'll get into the intuitive part. That's something else. But just remember, conviction is more coming from a place of discipline, from a place of not changing your mind every 2 minutes, you know. And also, conviction grows from knowing yourself as much as knowing the market. That goes back to self-trust and self-belief. The more you believe in yourself, the more you trust yourself, the more you have the right belief system, the more you have the, the right self-image All of these, which is part of the work, part of the principles we spoke about, adds up and contributes to you having conviction in what you're doing as a trader. And I promise you guys, I'm just, you know, being very transparent. The traders that have succeeded working with me over the years are the ones that had a sense of conviction in what they're doing. They've put in the work But also they've reached a level where they were, they were able to say to themselves, oh, the ego speaking here, I need to take a step back. Let's not get overexcited. You know, I had in the, in the, in the, in season, uh, 1 of, of the podcast Underwriting Rising Minds, I had Tom Basso, and he's an incredible human being. I'm thinking of bringing him on for season 2 as well. But he was incredible because he was able to differentiate When the ego is there. He's a market wizard, by the way. When the ego is there versus when the ego is, is not, where— let's not get overexcited. He was able to differentiate between the identity and the higher self, the observer. And when you move into that understanding that there's 2 parts of you, it's incredible, man. It's incredible because now you are aware when it's the ego that's taking over. Or it's the higher self, the conviction, the person that is sticking to the rules, the person that's not getting overexcited over a big trade, over a big win, or not getting thrown out of balance when it— when there's a losing trade. Conviction is one of the key qualities for those seeking to become a master trader and to master their mind. So I really want this to resonate. I want this to land when I share with you guys. the power of moving and developing more conviction in what you're doing, and not to get lost in this overconfidence, over-ego aspect, but rather becoming that grounded person that you are. The conviction— the conviction— and having conviction in everything you're doing. And again, it doesn't mean you're going to get everything right, but it means that you have a sense of knowing. and a sense of sticking to your discipline and rules and, and processes and having conviction in what you're doing, right? But the, the chances are that you— the more you have conviction, the higher the probability of you having a higher win rate, right? A higher probability of you becoming more of a profitable trader, right? That's just part of the game, right? So I'm just going to recap one more time. We want to make sure we're able to— as a principle here, you have to make sure you ask yourself when a trade doesn't go well, or as an actionable insight here. When a trade doesn't go well, how do I react? Do I still have conviction in what I'm doing, or do I start changing my strategies and changing my way of trading and trade something different? Am I jumping a lot? If you're someone jumps a lot and keeps changing, then you know you don't have conviction in what you're doing. If you're someone that has doubts and gets overexcited when something goes well and you get overconfident and you start sizing up, then You don't have conviction. This is the ego that's taking over. You're trying to prove something to yourself and to the world, and that is the most dangerous thing, specifically as a trader, to constantly prove something to someone. That's what ends up most traders unfortunately blowing up their account or losing a lot of money and starting all over again, all over again, and that same pattern and that same loop. So let's make sure we are— let's make sure you have conviction in what you're doing. And this is a simple general, general Reminder to you, my beautiful listener, or if you're watching this right now, I hope you are because this is a great studio where I'm recording and I want to engage with you. I want to look into your eyes, but that's the intention about conviction. So again, guys, thank you for taking the time. Reflect. Ask yourself, do I have conviction in what I'm doing? And if I don't, what is in the way? What do I feel is in the way? What do I feel? Why do I feel that I keep changing? So those are the signals and the signs that work needs to be done, or you need to develop more. Conviction by having better behaviors, as I mentioned earlier. So guys, thank you again for taking the time to listen to this principle, principle number 4, and I'll see you on the next one. Much love and positive energy.