ARE YOU LISTENING?

Thich Nhat Hanh, lovingly called the Father of Mindfulness, once commented thus about listening – “Listening is a very deep practice. You have to empty yourself; you have to leave space in order to listen.”

This is applicable not just to those treading the spiritual or philosophical path, but to each and every one of us, and especially to those who are into forex trading.

It’s all about listening to what the market, the banks, and government have to say because these are the major factors that influence the market. Often what they say contain hidden messages that can make or break your trading journey.

Now, the listening that we are discussing here is not just mindless listening – you have to listen and understand the language that the market is speaking. Hence, brings us to the three questions you should ask yourself to ensure that you are listening actively, understanding their language, and reading the hidden messages that they carry.

Question: #1: Are you able to understand the story that the market is telling you?

The market is a great story teller. It always builds narrative, but there is a catch! The market never narrates like your grandma. The story is said in bits and pieces, some parts here and there, just like a jigsaw puzzle. You have to pick the right ones and keep it together to learn the story. However, with active listening, you too can figure out what the market is telling you.

Thus, if you listen with a purpose in mind, curiosity, and enthusiasm of a child trying to solve a jigsaw puzzle, you surely can listen to the stories that the market is trying to convey to you.

Question #2. Are you listening to the "NO" messages of the market?

This is probably the most important message that you should listen to. If you miss other messages, you may miss a chance to gain profit, but if you miss to pick up the NO messages, you may even lose what you have gained from the market so far.

The market may not always show crystal clear signs that you should keep away from the market. The messages are mostly hidden. Also, what is a “NO” message for you will be a “YES” message for someone else. Understand that it is saying something like: "Don’t trade now, this is not the perfect condition for your style." So, to get this right, you should first have a clear idea about what works for you and what does not, what are your strong areas and what are your weak areas. Once you listen with these things in your mind, you can better pick up the “NO” messages that the market is giving you.

Question #3: Are you listening to the sound yet to be produced?

Listening becomes all the more advantageous when you have understood enough to foresee what is going to happen in the future. It is not a wild guess. It is based on concrete inputs and an understanding of how the market behaves. If you are familiar with the habitual behaviour patterns of the forex market, listening actively can give you valuable clues which form the basis of informed judgement and forecast of the future.

So, before you start listening to the market, ensure that you are familiar with such behaviour patterns such as how it starts, how it progresses, and how it ends. Once again, to get optimum results, you have to listen with both short-term and long-term forecasts in mind. Then you will be able to listen to the sound that is yet to be produced. This will give you an edge over other market players. This will make you that early bird that always catches the biggest worm.

To sum this blog, the journey of forex trading starts from the ears. It may be difficult at first to calm your mind and simply listen, without judgment, to what the market is trying to tell you, but do not worry in the slightest, listening is also a skill that you can master. It gets easier as you practice it. The quieter you become, the more you can hear.