Chapter Nine: How We Can Cultivate Our Spirituality

An important perspective from the last chapter is that the great spiritual traditions of the world are a treasure-trove of best practices for cultivating our capacities for self-transcendence, the peak experience, and creative perception.  In this chapter we will look across traditions to identify some of those best practices and how they are relevant to our development as people--and as traders.  

The Metaphor of Physical Development

Let's say we wanted to become more physically fit and develop our body's potentials.  How might we go about doing that?

The simplest strategy would be to buy a set of weights and a treadmill and begin a workout program at home.  Alternatively, we could join a gym and make use of their equipment to build strength, develop our core, build our aerobic fitness, etc.

All that is fine, but would this approach bring us to elite levels of development?  Probably not.

If we look at highly physically developed individuals, we will most likely observe two things:

1)  They have received intensive coaching and mentoring over a number of years, with very specific workouts designed to build their capacities and very specific feedback regarding their performance during those workouts;

2)  They have reached their elite level of development within one or more athletic domains.  Perhaps they have developed as competitive swimmers, weightlifters, or basketball players.  Some may have even trained across specific domains, as in the case of triathletes.  Still, they will have reached their potentials within particular sports, not simply by engaging in general exercise.

These two observations are important.  We generally cannot push ourselves in the right way--and to the right degree--to optimally test and extend our limits.  That is the role of a coach.  The coach knows which exercises develop particular muscles and abilities.  The coach also knows the best ways to perform those exercises and the optimal sequencing of those.  Without mentoring, it is likely that our attempts at physical development would be inefficient and suboptimal.  This is why we never see Olympic athletes who are totally self-taught and self-trained.

The second observation suggests that physical development is so broad that it is unlikely that we could reach elite levels across multiple domains.  Can we really expect the weightlifter to be competitive as a ballet dancer or vice versa?  Michael Jordan admirably attempted to replicate his phenomenal success as a basketball player on the baseball field and never quite hit that elite level of performance.  We reach our highest level of development within specific domains that make use of our native abilities, interests, and available mentoring.

How does this apply to our spiritual development?

Could we develop ourselves spiritually without working within established religions or spiritual traditions?  Of course.  We could take art appreciation courses, participate in worthy community activities, read books on spirituality, take yoga classes, etc.  Those are all worthwhile.  If, however, we wished to hone our capacities for self-transcendence to elite levels, doing those things would be like buying a home gym as training for the Olympics.  At best, it would be a start.

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Trading and Spirituality:  The Good and Bad News

The good news is that traders are more open today to such disciplines as meditation than at any time since I began my work as a performance psychologist.  It is not unusual that traders make use of online resources such as Headspace to learn skills of focusing themselves and becoming more calm.  I'm not sure this book could have been written a decade ago.

The bad news is that these tools, from yoga classes to meditation apps, are typically employed as behavioral aids, not as means for spiritual development.  For instance, a trader seeks classes in meditation because he or she wants to relax or control emotions.  There is no thought given to self-transcendence or creative perception.

There is nothing wrong with relaxation exercises and other behavioral tools.  Meditation, for example, can serve that purpose, just as stretching can help us feel more awake and limber.  To achieve a high level of development, however, requires not just isolated exercises but ongoing efforts that test and extend our capacities.  Most traders conduct a session of meditation long enough to calm themselves.  They would have to stick with it longer and engage in specific challenging exercises to reach radically renewed levels of consciousness.  

There is a fundamental difference between pursuing practices as self-improvement exercises versus engaging in them for the development of self-transcendence.  A meditation exercise engaged in for a few minutes in the morning can help you view the market in a more calm, collected state.  It will not help you view markets differently.

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What the world's great spiritual traditions can offer are mentoring and guidance and sets of exercises designed to cultivate the soul.  These traditions are the gymnasiums of the spirit.  Just as we cannot be fully physically developed in all respects, we will never be fully developed spiritually.  Different spiritual traditions are like different sports, calling upon specific skills and capacities and developing us in different ways.  

If someone were to ask the question, "Which sport is best for developing fitness?", you would probably qualify your answer by pointing out that it all depends on the type of fitness you're trying to develop.  The fitness of the Olympic swimmer is not the fitness of the Olympic weightlifter or the Olympic pole vaulter.  The real issue is which sport is best for cultivating your fitness, given your body type, talents, and interests.

As emphasized earlier, from the perspective of this book, we are not concerned with the competitive claims of spiritual traditions as to which are true or false or superior to others.  Rather, we look to them all as unique disciplines that can bring us to our greatest level of development.  The spiritual development of the serious Buddhist will be different from the spiritual development of the devout Muslim.  Ultimately, each of us has to find the path that speaks to us and that leverages our native strengths.  

Still, a careful look across the traditions finds several common best practices.  These cultivate some of the capacities we need to remove ego from the key decisions and actions in trading, as well as in the rest of our lives.

Best Practice #1:  Humility

Every major spiritual tradition instills a perspective that places us within a much larger reality.  Moreover, these traditions incorporate processes (prayer, meditation, contemplation, ritual) that help ground us in this larger reality.  To use the image described earlier, the effect is similar to our experience when we stand in front of the Grand Canyon.  The majesty of the world around us fills our awareness, producing a sense of awe and wonder.  At such times, we set aside our self-importance.  We become aware of a reality beyond our reality.  

In prayer, for example, we make contact with our Creator.  We praise our Creator; we petition the Creator for our needs; we thank our Creator for our many blessings; we ask for forgiveness.  At those times, we humble ourselves, sometimes bowing, bowing our heads, or kneeling.  Gone is chit-chat and frivolous self-talk.  Prayer connects us with what is solemn and sacred.  

It is not coincidence that religious individuals pray multiple times per day.  Indeed, over half of all Americans report praying daily.  Often, prayer occurs in the context of ritual, such as praying the Rosary or gathering for prayer services at various points in the day.  When prayer becomes a regular part of our experience, we actively exercise our capacity for humility.  To use the framework described earlier, with humility as with all character virtues, we either use it or lose it.  Meditation, the seeking of repentance, the thanks for the food we eat:  all of these are ways of strengthening broader life perspectives.  They are also ways of building our capacity to shut out the ordinary world and focus on what is essential.

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Humility and Gratitude

Traders often acknowledge that they waste considerable time staring at screens, fretting at markets that don't go their way.  Similarly, I hear many traders second-guess themselves on trades:  they could have gotten in at a better price; they could have held the trade longer; they could have been sized larger; etc.  All of these activities are narrowly focused on P/L and ultimately erode the trader's mindset.  

We've seen that gratitude is an essential component of psychological well-being.  The grateful trader is not self-focused, absorbed in how much money they could/should make.  The grateful trader is thankful for the opportunities coming their way.  When we look heavenward with thanks for what we've accomplished, there is an essential humility to our perspective.  It's not just about us.  It's not just about profits and losses.  

A great metric in evaluating your trading journal is to count the number of frustrated statements versus the number of grateful ones.  A great metric in evaluating other traders is to count the number of self-aggrandizing statements with the number of humble, grateful ones.

If losses are opportunities to learn and improve, we can sustain a grateful mindset even in times of adversity.  A humble mindset is one looking to learn.  A grateful mindset appreciates every opportunity to grow.

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A life perspective that instills and strengthens humility grounds us in the awareness that there is always something more important than me.  There is always something more significant than what is simply happening here and now.  We cannot succeed in trading--or any life endeavor--if it becomes our end-all and be-all.  Once trading and P/L are placed on a pedestal, they control us and our experience.  And that is precisely what interferes with profitability!

Think of it this way:  Each of us is wired for meaning and purpose.  All of us worship something.  We might worship an ultimate reality or a Creator; we might worship social status and wealth.  All of us have a god, whether or not that god is divine.  Among the great spiritual traditions of the world, our worship--our quest for meaning and purpose--instills humility and perspective.  That allows us to ride life's ups and downs and find value in ourselves and the world even when we experience loss. 

We are best positioned to succeed in markets if there is something enduring in our lives above and beyond markets and their rewards.  

We are best positioned to succeed in markets if we sustain the humility to understand that profits don't make us worthy and losses don't make us worthless.  It may be the case that the surest path to disciplined trading is the adoption of a spiritual discipline that takes the ego out of our activities.

Best Practice #2:  Community

It is not a coincidence that we find spiritual traditions housed in ashrams, mosques, churches, synagogues, and intentional communities.  The Jewish tradition, for example, emphasizes that prayer is most powerful when conducted in a group of ten or more (minyan).  Being part of a spiritual community brings out what is spiritual within us.

The earlier discussion of mirrors in our psychological development is relevant here.  Each relationship that we engage in is a pathway for experiencing ourselves.  If our relationships are with self-absorbed people or with people who care about us for what we have, those are the experiences we internalize over time.  If we are embedded within a spiritual community, we have the opportunity to internalize a very different sense of what is important in life (and in ourselves).

For the last couple of years, I have belonged to multiple congregations.  Each has a different character; each appeals to a different population; and each provides a unique experience.  At one congregation, services include rhythm, music, and joyous dance.  There is a spirit of welcoming the Sabbath that permeates the room.  That spirit infuses my weekend and is itself renewing.  Whatever our social environment might be, that is what we absorb.  In spiritual communities, we absorb a sense of meaning and specialness not typically found in our day-to-day worlds.

It is within spiritual communities that we find teaching and learning.  It's also within those communities that we find people supporting one another and working together in common cause.  The role of the community is to expand the individual:  intellectually, socially, emotionally, and spiritually.  Many character strengths, from compassion to cooperation to leadership, are exercised within communities.

One of the great developments in trading in recent years has been the rise of online communities.  These typically offer forums for sharing ideas, interacting with other traders, and giving/receiving mentoring.  Many of these communities, such as those included in the Appendix, offer ways for independent traders to escape the isolation of solo trading and gain the benefits of mutual learning.

Unfortunately, there are online trading communities that are forums for the ego-driven needs of self-anointed gurus looking to sell their products and services.  Tweets and videos proclaim the winnings and great calls of these gurus, encouraging members to do the same.  These are hardly spiritual communities and, indeed, feed the very ego forces that interfere with clear-headed decision making.  It's the trading communities that offer true idea sharing and opportunities to learn that create an environment that expands who we are.

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Questions to Ask About Any Trading Community

*  Does this reinforce humility and perspective or feed ego and unrealistic expectations?

*  Does this connect me with people who can learn from me and teach me?

*  Do the members contribute to one another or is the focus on the guru(s)?

*  Is the focus on promoting ideas or on self-promotion?

*  Is the focus on sharing or on selling services?

*  Am I truly coming away from this conference or community with actionable ideas and fresh perspectives?

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In a spiritual community, our values are visible and we experience the intimacy of shared commitments.  We have the opportunities to teach and support others as well as opportunities to learn and find support.  Such a community is there for us during good times and bad, in celebration and in mourning.  Just as important, the community encourages us to be there for others through thick and thin.  When we are thus connected with others, it is harder to become caught up in day to day demands for profits and worries about performance.

When I began working with portfolio managers at large hedge funds, I was immediately struck by a pattern:  the most successful ones had unusually large and rich information networks.  These managers reached out to many peers within their firms, at other funds, and across the sell side.  There was a tacit understanding that no one could possibly process all the information out there.  Connecting with other bright, motivated, creative people was a way of making everyone better.  

These professional networks are the traders' professional communities.  They are ways of sharing information, testing out ideas, and reviewing latest developments.  They are also ways of sussing out sentiment and positioning, often revealing the questions people aren't asking.  But these networks are also professional resources if a manager is looking to expand their team or is thinking about landing a different position.  The networks are also supports, where traders share their challenges, often over dinner and drinks.

Earlier we took a look at the relationship between humility and gratitude.  There is also a relationship between humility and community involvement.  If I am full of myself, there is no room for others in my life.  The portfolio managers with active, large networks start with the premise that they don't know everything.  They are humble.  They know that others have areas of specialization that they do not.  They are grateful for the opportunity to fill in the holes in their understanding. 

This is the spiritual value of community.  In connecting meaningfully with others, we expand ourselves.  Caring about others, helping them, collaborating with them--all bypass the ego mode and activate something Divine and giving in us. When we join actual spiritual communities, we exercise our capacities for meaningful connection--and that makes us more able to connect to those that inform and inspire our trading.

Best Practice #3:  Purpose

It is significant that most of the great spiritual traditions of the world emphasize that there is more to us than our lives in this world.  Christians look to a heavenly afterlife; Jews prepare for a world-to-come ushered in by a Messiah; one of the Six Articles of Faith in Islam is an eventual Day of Judgement for all people, leading to either paradise or punishment; Hinduism and Buddhism emphasize reincarnation as part of a larger process of spiritual purification.  Across all these traditions, the common theme is that life has a purpose and value beyond our daily preoccupations.

The idea of an afterlife is very important, even as it is an uncomfortable topic for many.  Notice how in each tradition, what we need to do to secure a desirable afterlife is what we need to do to develop ourselves as spiritual beings.  The afterlife is thus an overarching purpose that says, "All of life is one great practice session for the life to come."  The religious life keeps us grounded in a life beyond our internal chatter and daily routines.

Imagine great works of art:  novels, paintings, or symphonies.  Each consists of unique elements linked by an underlying structure and theme.  What makes the artwork a work of art is the ability to capture meaning in a way that is aesthetically satisfying.  Our lives, too, can be works of art.  When we live with purpose, the unique elements of our daily existence are linked in a broader network of meaning.  A life that is wasted is one that makes no statement; that fulfills no grand purpose.  When life itself is a work of art, it inspires.

The great spiritual traditions of the world typically embrace ethical principles that guide how we are to deal with ourselves and others.  These principles provide a fabric for our lives, guiding and inspiring efforts that have value and meaning.  A trader I worked with channeled much of his free time--and a portion of his wealth--toward helping youth in a sports league.  He was convinced that sports, coached and mentored properly, was a powerful vehicle for the development of young people.  His success in markets became all the more meaningful because it fueled a larger life purpose:  to become a developmental catalyst for young men and women.

  
As a psychologist, I have approached trading as a discipline not unlike martial arts.  Both can be approached competitively, but both are also more than that.  They are vehicles for mastering ourselves.  Martial arts students are not just learning how to win tournaments; they are learning self-control, self-discipline, and the ability to act decisively in the heat of the moment.  Trading is no different.  We cannot master markets if we do not exercise a high degree of self-mastery.  An important part of the overarching purpose to trading is that, properly pursued, it pushes us to become better people.  Without that larger purpose, it is just a mechanisms for making money, feeding the worst of our appetites and needs.

It is difficult to imagine that a highly developed spiritual person involved in markets would be going on tilt, overtrading and acting on impulse.  The qualities that would bring them a fulfilling world to come would be precisely those expressed in their trading.

Suppose you inherited a large sum of money at an early age.  You are now self-sufficient and don't need to pursue an education or a career.  You don't need to commit to relationships; you're free to do whatever you want whenever you want.  Most of us would not experience this as paradise.  Indeed, without family, without a career to express our talents, and without larger commitments to community and the future, life would feel quite empty.  Yes, spirituality provides us with humility and gratitude; yes, it connects us to a community of shared practice and meaning.  Perhaps most of all, however, it gives purpose to what we do, guiding us, but also energizing us.

Too often traders go from day to day consumed with generating the next idea, the next trade, the next round of profitability.  Eventually, they burn out and lose focus.  Their efforts consume energy; they don't energize.  When we operate with a purpose aligned with our talents and passions, we find that flow state that fuels our greatest creative efforts.  

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Three Forms of Motivation

There are three forms of motivation, yielding very different results for traders.

The first is discipline.  Traders set rules and exhort themselves to follow them.  

The second is habit.  Traders set up routines and learn to follow them automatically.

The third is inspiration.  Traders tap into what they find meaningful and are energized to persist in their efforts.

Discipline fails because we become fatigued and lose our focus and "willpower".

Habit fails because markets continually change, forcing us to change and adapt.

Inspiration taps into our strengths regardless of what is going on in markets.  It gives us energy and doesn't leave us depleted.  

Discipline and habit tap into what we should do.  Inspiration taps into who we are.

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A purpose is more than setting a goal for the next day's trading.  A purpose captures your life's meaning, your life's yearning.  

A life without purpose is a life without point.  Trading without purpose is equally pointless.

Keys to Cultivating Spirituality

The three best practices captured in spiritual traditions can form a kind of scorecard to evaluating our own development.  We can ask ourselves, each day, each week, each month:

*  What have I done to instill a sense of humility, gratitude, and perspective in my life?

*  What have I done to connect meaningfully to others and contribute to my partner, friends, family, and community?

*  What have I done to fulfill my greater purpose in life, through my personal efforts, my work, and my trading?

The mere act of asking these questions with regularity instills a degree of mindful self-awareness.  It is difficult to live life on autopilot if we are regularly asking these questions and pushing ourselves for good answers.  

Your trading plan must consist of more than entries and exits.  It must also include a vision of how you will live your life and how trading will contribute to that.  Will trading make your life spiritually richer, or will it mire you in an unfulfilling quest for more and more?

Again, the question arises:  Does your trading promote the best or worst in you?

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Resources

*  We can think of spiritual traditions as collections of principles that help us live more purposefully and intentionally.  This article describes an important function of trading psychology:  helping us live more principled lives.  The work of Ray Dalio is very insightful here.  He explains that the most important principle in life is the ability to live by principles.  We can think of the above "best practices"--humility, community, and purpose--as overarching principles that can guide our trading and our lives.

*  Here is a fascinating development in brain science:  the development of a fully portable EEG unit.  This would allow wearers to train their brain waves in real time, real life performance situations and could become a phenomenal tool for cognitive rehabilitation, treatment for ADD/ADHD, and prevention of brain disorders related to aging.  Of course, there is a particularly promising application to the trading world, where we could learn to better keep ourselves "in the zone".  Not only could we learn to wire our brains for trading success, but also for the spiritual functions that promote well-being and success across life areas.  Might meditation with continuous EEG feedback, for example, deepen the benefits we receive from the exercise?  Might we be able to train our brains for humility?  Joy?  

*  Dr. Paul Wong makes an excellent point:  Too much emphasis on developing our strengths can unwittingly reinforce egotism.  This is why cultivating humility, caring, and transcendence is important.  The website of the Dalai Lama is a wonderful resource for exploring these qualities.  Here is a worthwhile research study that examines positive empathy as a unique factor in our well-being.  Community will have particular power in our development if it is grounded in such empathy and mutual commitment, rather than serving as a forum for ego needs.
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Key Takeaways - Each religion and spiritual tradition is different, but all ground us in humility, community, and purpose.  In different ways, each of these three "spiritual best practices" takes us outside ourselves and into a larger life perspective.  It is this perspective that enables us to undergo the risks and uncertainties--the ups and downs--that are part and parcel of life as a trader.  What spirituality gives us is a framework that, ultimately, is more important than our cherished trading ideas, more important than our profits and losses.  When we approach this life as practice for the next one, we cultivate the qualities that keep us in peak experiencing mode, which is also peak performance mode.

Practical Exercise - What a great scorecard for your trading journal:  the degree to which it instills humility, community, and purpose.  If your journal shows appreciation for what you've learned and done well as well as sincere acknowledgement of what you are committed to doing better, that yields humility.  If you share your journal with others to learn from their insights and to role-model for them, that grounds you in community.  If your journal becomes an ongoing way of setting and tracking your progress on goals--emphasizing the goals that make you a better person as well as a better trader--that instills purpose.  Every journal and every journal entry can thus strengthen you spiritually.

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