?Is it important to be creative in your trading??

I?m not sure I can describe it in terms of importance. The creative process is somewhat of a mystery, even to scientists who study it. There are a few common characteristics that all creative persons possess (such as an openness to a variety of internal and external experiences and a driving need to express one`s sense of individualism), but for the most part, exactly how the creative mind makes earthshaking discoveries is unknown. A few prerequisites are necessary, though. The mind must be focused, for example. New ideas must flow through the mind freely, and there must be a wide range of ideas, so that they can be combined and re-combined in new ways. New and creative trading ideas are necessary to stay ahead of the crowd, so doing whatever you can to prepare your mind to brainstorm new ideas will help you develop creative trading strategies that are the foundation of profitable trading.

Many great scientific discoveries were made almost by accident, through a serendipitous observation. Had an untrained eye made the observation, it would have been missed. But because the scientist`s mind was continuously running through a wealth of ideas, he or she saw a new discovery in a seemingly ordinary event. Discovering new trading ideas is also a creative, intellectual endeavor. You must get your creative juices flowing in order to see the next new idea. It`s essential that you "prime" your thinking processes, get your mind ready to make a creative observation.

In some ways, your mind is like a well. You prime a well to get the water flowing, and once it`s started, it flows continuously. You must similarly prime your mind to get ideas flowing. Various ideas in your mind are stored in a hierarchical structure. Information is stored together in a clump, depending on its meaning. When you aren`t thinking of a particular topic, it`s hard to bring information about that topic into consciousness; it lies their stagnant and hidden. However, when you make a concerted effort to think carefully about a specific topic, or a closely related topic, and start running through a bunch of possibilities, all kinds of new possibilities become apparent. Your mind quickly scans various concepts and ideas, almost unconsciously. Suddenly this wealth of information combines and you see something new.

For example, suppose you develop a vague trading idea about how a set of indicators may forecast the price of a particular stock. Once you get the basic idea in your mind, you can prime your mind to get the creative juices flowing. For example, you can scan a set of charts to back test and find support for your hypothesis. As you look through the charts, the information you see will prime other related information. Soon idea after idea will coalesce, and you`ll make a new discovery that will serve as a basis for a new trading strategy. The main point is that you must set your thinking processes in motion to come up with a creative new idea. Some traders even suggest putting on a small trade based on a hunch in order to set your creative processes in motion. When you put on a trade, your adrenalin starts to rush, your attention starts to focus, your senses are heightened, and you suddenly change your perspective until you see new ideas. The more your mind is active, the more likely you`ll make creative new discoveries. Knowing about the creative process and how to set it in motion gives you power. Some people are down on themselves because they can`t seem to think creatively. But they can. They just need to know how to do it. It`s vital to be relaxed and free of anxiety. But it`s also essential to prime your mind in order to start the process. So when it`s time to think of a new trading idea, think creatively. Set your creative processes in motion. You may come up with a big idea that will make you huge profits.

Joe Ross
Trading Educators Inc.