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fingernails, kicking their legs rapidly under the table. I noticed a lot of squirming in chairs and too many cups of coffee. |
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Feeling nervous and agitated is not so surprising. Having large amounts of money on the line, needing to pay very close attention to each change in the quotes, and needing to make quick decisions as to when to pull the trigger would make anyone nervous. |
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Add to this the fact that some traders are drinking numerous cups of coffee and eating sugary donuts beginning before the market opens and continuing through the trading day. This jacks them up even further. It makes for a tense and intense scene. Its not an easy-going work environment. |
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And how could it be? Unlike the chips in Las Vegas that allow seasoned gamblers to "forget" that they are playing for real money, having your profit or loss continually flashing before your eyes never lets you forget what is at stake. |
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Slouching toward Wall Street |
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Why, besides having money on the line, does being thrust into the here and now while trading make us so uncomfortable? |
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What happens is that coming into and staying in the present is inherently an anxiety-provoking event for us. We are just not sure how to get fully comfortable in the present, how to really settle into it easily and gracefully. |
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Whether it's trying to stay fully present with another person in an intimate conversation or focusing on a computer screen to write these words, there is a subtle avoidance to feeling the full force of the present. Any activity that pushes us into the present and keeps us there is usually tinged with some tension. |
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Pay attention to your own experience right now. Stop reading for a moment and notice what happens when you look around your physical space. Use your ears and eyes to notice what is happening right here and right now. |
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Notice any thoughts, feelings, or sensations that may arise and just stay with them, not trying to avoid, change, or push away anything you notice. |
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What happens when you fully enter into the present? Do you notice an impulse to want to distract yourself from feeling its full weight? For most, it is not easy to stay present-centered for very long. Why? |
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Because we encounter an ever-present, subtle tension that nudges us into the next moment. It's as if we're always slouching into the future. |
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