Interpretations that would result in a more satisfying experience

CHAPTER 5 
THE DYNAMICS OF PERCEPTION 
 
One of the primary objectives of this book is to teach you how to take the threat of pain out of market 
information. The market doesn't generate happy or painful information. From the markets perspective, 
it's all simply information. It may seem as if the market is causing you to feel the way you do at any 
given moment, but that's not the case. It's your own mental framework that determines how you 
perceive the information, how you feel, and, as a result, whether or not you are in the most conducive 
state of mind to spontaneously enter the flow and take advantage of whatever the market is offering. 
Professionals don't perceive anything about the markets as painful; therefore, no threat exists for them. 
If there's no threat, there's nothing to defend against. As a result, there isn't any reason for their 
conscious or subconscious defense mechanisms to kick in. That's why professionals can see and do 
things that mystify everyone else. They're in the flow, because they're perceiving an endless stream of 
opportunities, and when they're not in the flow, the very best of the best can recognize that fact and 
then compensate by either scaling back or not trading at all.
If your goal is to be able to trade like the professionals, you must be able to see the market from an 
objective perspective, without distortion. You must be able to act without resistance or hesitation, but 
with the appropriate amount of positive restraint to counteract the negative effects of overconfidence or 
euphoria. In essence, your objective is to be able to create a unique state of mind, a traders mentality. 
When you've accomplished this, everything else about your success as a trader will fall into place. To 
help you achieve that objective, I'm going to give you a way to redefine your relationship to market 
information so that there will be little or no potential to perceive any of it as threatening.
By "redefine," I mean to change your perspective and operate out of a mental framework that keeps 
you focused on the opportunities available instead of tapping you into emotional pain.

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