Emotional pivots are those times before, during and after the trade, when an event (anything that gets your attention) like either something that you see in the chart or the market volatility, triggers a thought that is often unconscious (out of your awareness) prompting an emotional response, like severe anxiety. Just as chart pivot points tell a story about the previous days mechanical data, which can be helpful in your analysis of the current price action and subsequent support and resistance; so having an understanding of your emotional pivots can tell a story about your internal data and patterns of thinking, feeling and doing related to a market event that is reflected in the charts.

Using pivot points as a trading strategy has been around for a long time and was originally used by floor traders. This was a nice simple way for floor traders to have some idea of where the market was heading during the course of the day with only a few simple calculations. The pivot point is the level at which the market direction changes for the day. Using some simple arithmetic and the previous day’s high, low and close, a series of points are derived. These points can be critical support and resistance levels. The pivot level, support and resistance levels calculated from that are collectively known as pivot levels.

When you become aware and gain knowledge (internal data) about your emotional pivots associated with market and chart fluctuations, you will be in a better position to be proactive in addressing these spikes. Intense anxiety propels you outside of your comfort zone. Being outside of your comfort zone means that you are prone to a behavior that is instigated to get you back inside your comfort zone; for example, an inability to pull the trigger and enter the trade. When this happens, it is important to your game to use a mental/emotional tool to turn down that emotional intensity. By turning down the emotional intensity, you are also reversing what could, if left unregulated, transition into an emotional trend, which quite often will spiral out of control as the trading session progresses. Additionally, when you turn down the emotional intensity, you are better able to focus without the emotional and thought noise that is so distracting, which often leads to distorted judgment; taking you further off course.

How, you might ask, can you increase your awareness of emotional pivots? Well, one way is through writing down all the thoughts and emotions associated with those times when you did something that you said you wouldn’t do, or didn’t do something that you said you would. In other words you didn’t follow your trading rules and you got results that you didn’t want. This type of internal data documentation focuses on the past. For example, what did you just do, and it is usually behavior based. Documenting what you did, or did not do, will over time produce the patterns of thinking and emotions that drove that unwanted behavior. You must change your thoughts to change your behavior. As time goes on you’ll want to identify the emotional pivot as it happens. You’ll want to be not only proactive in what you are doing about the pattern; you’ll also want to be “preemptive.” Preemptive means that through documenting the internal data you not only have increased your self-awareness enough to be in the moment and sensitive to the fact that you are feeling negative emotional intensity; but you’ll be poised to use a mental/emotional tool (like guided imagery, affirmations or relaxation technique) to preempt and take-out or neutralize the emotions as they happen. It will no longer be acceptable to allow this pattern to continue; and you’ll be willing to be uncomfortable in the service of your highest and best goals; that is, your A-Game.

Know your emotional pivots. You can’t change what you can’t face; and you can’t face what you don’t know. Awareness is crucial to changing your thoughts and emotions in order to change your behavior, which will in turn bring on different results. Let’s face it, results is the name of the game and if you’re not getting the results in your trading that you want, then you must begin to change something in your behavior. Learn to be proactive and preemptive as you identify your emotional pivots. Use your journal to document the internal data and change your negative patterns of thinking, feeling and doing one issue at a time.