As humans we live in two worlds. There is the external physical world of work, family and friends that we travel in. Then there is the world of our mind and imagination. It is a virtual reality that can appear and feel just as real. When it comes to your emotions the virtual world of your mind can be more real.
If you are seeking to create greater fulfillment and happiness in your life most sources will point to making changes in your external world. However it is changes in the virtual reality of your mind that will make a lasting impact on your happiness and fulfillment.
Those suggestions to find what you love, do what you are passionate about, and achieve your goals will lead you towards happiness. However without addressing how the virtual reality of the mind affects your emotions you can still end up disillusioned and empty. The importance of addressing the role of the mind in your happiness may be difficult to grasp because even the opinions in your mind will point to changing your external world in order to be happy.
What Your Mind Doesn’t Want you to Realize
Most everybody has heard that money doesn’t make you happy, other people don’t make you happy, and that you have to make your self happy. Very few people will tell you how. Your mind will propose that happiness has something to do with the success and accomplishment in the external world. This is exactly what the mind wants you to believe and act on.
As long as you are more focused on the external world of success and accomplishment your mind can avoid giving up the control it has over your emotions. The mind is a dynamic and living entity that has an agenda of its own survival ahead of your emotional well being.
As you put your attention on the dynamics of the virtual reality of the mind it begins to lose control and power over your choices and thoughts. The process involves first becoming aware of the mind and the projections it makes. More self awareness will result in being aware of your self as separate from your mind that is generating thoughts and opinions.
What your mind doesn’t want you to realize is that your happiness and life fulfillment is really determined by what goes on in the world of the virtual reality. At the most essential level of emotions your happiness and sense of fulfillment in life has very little to do with accomplishments in the external reality.
The virtual reality of your mind is likely to disagree with these statements.
The following may appear for one or the other perhaps first of all somewhat exotic that this, what now comes, I post here at all. Since psychology does not take place in a constant line, I say in addition: Unusual psychological phenomena above all, also in the trade, one can look at and analyze also from unusual perspectives. And what analogies there are from time to time, depending on the approach and outcome of the thesis, is often quite astonishing. And I repeat: There are analogies which not means that every thing is one to one between trading and poker. Just to clear this point !
Now further to what I will post here:
I recently took the time to listen to the following interview, as poker interests me to a certain point. I have played poker games in my private life from time to time, but only vaguely and without any financial interest. Listening to the following discussion between a professional and successful poker player and the interviewer, who by the way does fantastic interviews on any topic, I immediately noticed that the psyche of a trader has many analogies with that of a poker player. Which these are, one can find out for its personality in this, following interview or also really discover around it. Then in the following day he/she implements it immediately into the trading and in his/her own life and thinking and feeling.
As a side note: This is not about highly complex, theoretical insights which are traded and pronounced in certain books and by certain experts and authors. This is about real, practical experiences from real, hard life. Have fun with it:
Daniel Negreanu: Poker | Lex Fridman Podcast
Sep 27, 2022 / Daniel Negreanu is one of the greatest poker players of all time.
