9 Proven Ways to Remain Sane in the Stock Market.

Investing in the stock market is hard. Stress starts to pile up one two major occasions.

First is when your investment starts to go against you. You spent hours researching and reading reports only to have a random variable you never predicted blind side you.

Even the best analysts in the world are wrong. On the street the highest paid analysts still only have around a 60-70% correct rating.

The second time you will experience stress is when your investment starts going too well and suddenly you have to worry about it crashing. You will spend countless hours at night thinking and wondering when you should ‘cash out.’

We all experience these stressors at some point. Here are 9 proven ways you can remain sane in the stock market.

Let’s jump right in.

Table of Contents

Remaining Sane by Remember the Larger Picture

Always remember to say to yourself.

“This to shall pass…”

Old Persian Adage

Remember the overall larger picture. You will have plenty of time to recoup your losses. Your mistakes are not permanent but they are short lived.

What will a small setback be 10-20 years from now? The answer is nothing but a small stepping stone on your way to your investment goals. Overall mistakes are nothing to worry about and even the most seasoned investors make the most novice of mistakes. Trust me, I have seen it happen.

As such, always remember the larger picture. You might even have a nice laugh when you realize everything at the end of the day is alright.

Remaining Sane by Stepping Away From the Computer and Going Outside

Man is an animal by nature. When you are having a bad day go outside and just breathe.

This goes for bad days in trading. You will build up stress. Log off from the computer and go outside, you can’t impact anything at your desk. Further, by stepping outside you will get a chance to appreciate the smaller things in life.

In fact an article published by the U.S National Library of Medicine has found direct evidence demonstrating that simply going outside around greenery is a natural easy way to relieve stress. Source

Even if the stock world is stressing you out. A simple step outside will help you tremendously. This is one of my favorite methods of relaxation when the markets are acting up.

So take a quick break, log off, shut down, and go outside. The worlds a beautiful place…man just makes it ugly.

Remaining Sane by Doing Something with your Hands

Ever hear the old English saying “idle hands do the devils work?” Well neither have I but it fits here.

Pick up a puzzle, play with a dog, start playing a musical instrument. Not only is this your chance to learn a new skill in a fun and creative way but you can also reduce stress.

I play a lot of guitar, and it’s very noticeable when my stress levels are high. This is because I will play substantially more guitar than I normally do. It is all in the guise of lowering stress.

As such I highly recommend picking up a guitar or another musical instrument. Who knows maybe you will become the next famous musician.

For us average people we just do it to relieve stress. As such just grab something and start tinkering with it. You will be amazed at not only what you find but also what that you will be reducing stress at the same time.

Remaining Sane by Keeping a Trading Journal

So your investment went against you. You can either let this failure define you as a trader/investor or you can learn from it and improve.

Those who improve from their failures often see themselves becoming better and better overtime. This is why I recommend keeping a trading journal discussing why you invested in a company, what went right or wrong, and how it made you feel.

By keeping up tabs on this you will not only reduce stress in this industry but also start to learn from your mistakes. Further, you can chart how far you have come in your trading/investing career!

Everyone should keep a journal as writing is beneficial to helping reduce stress. A little bit of writing a day could turn into another skill that will help you further on.

Remaining Sane by Going for a Drive

This is surprisingly relaxing. When you’re driving your mind is preoccupied and can only live in the moment, not worry about your recent stressful event.

I chose to put on some nice music while I am driving and just relax. I will go for a drive on random roads I have never been down before just to see where I can get myself into.

The more stressed I was before the drive the further I will drive. Sometimes when I royally mess up in the market I will drive for hours. One time I drove for 4 hours into a completely random direction.

While I don’t recommend getting lost, driving until your stress is relieved is a great way to clear your mind while also reducing your stress. I do it all that time and it helps me to keep the things that matter in perspective.

Remaining Sane by Going to Grab a Soft Drink

Here you are setting out on a mission…to get your favorite soft drink.

Because of this you will have a clear and concise mission; you need to go to your local drink market to get your favorite soft drink.

It’s easily replicated and gets you away from your desk momentarily. Down the street from me is a gas station that I can go to and grab a quick drink.

This helps tremendously as with a clear goal and vision you will forget about what stressed you out. Give it a try!

Remaining Sane by Looking at Your Investments that are Working

Not everything you do is a failure, this philosophy applies to the market as well.

Remember that time you successfully predicted that stock movement? Go back and look at the chart and remember how awesome you truly are.

Too often we remember our failures over our successes. Try to remember how amazing of an investor you really are.

It’s also important to remember why you decided to invest in that stock. If it’s a repeatable investment thesis then go back to that to see if it still works.

Sometimes a failure will simply open up another door for us to try again, but this time in a different way. So go back and see if there is another door.

Remaining Sane by Talking with your Investing Friends

If you have friends who also invest, talk with them about your recent investment that went bad.

You would be surprised how much that ‘good’ investor you know of had failures. I have made my living off investing and I can tell you that I have made literally every mistake in the book.

Other people see successful investors as gods within the investing industry. I can tell you they are just like normal people, they have just made the mistake you did and learned from it.

If the ‘god’ investor claims that they don’t make mistakes they are lying. Plain and simple.

As such, talk about your investing failures with your investing friends. You will learn from their mistakes as well as yours. Not to mention you will feel better afterwards.

Remaining Sane by Listening to Instrumental Music

Ok, I am going to tell you one of the main secrets to my success.

Go to YouTube and type in Lo/Fi Hip Hop. Click on any one of the videos and listen. You can thank me later by subscribing to the newsletter and sharing this on social media.

Ever since I have found Lo/Fi I have become a much chiller person. Being a relaxed person is vital to being a successful investor, so listen to relaxing people and music.

You can substitute Lo/Fi for any music that is ‘mellow.’ By listening to this type of mellow music you will be able to relax even when the market goes completely against you.

Conclusion

Learning to relax and relieve stress is vital to making money in the stock market. This is because even the best analysts make mistakes and nobody is perfect. You will make mistakes, and hopefully you learn from them.

By managing stress you will come back with a clear head. This mentality is the most important thing in remaining sane in the market.

As always if you like content like this then you should subscribe to the newsletter and share on social media! Every share helps me help other people in the market so its much appreciated!

Until next time, I wish you the best of luck in your investments.

Sincerely,