The Power of Mastering Discomfort Tolerance
A Look on Pain Perception and Discomfort Tolerance
Find the audio version of this post at the bottom.
It’s fascinating how we instinctively avoid discomfort in even the most basic aspects of life.
When we feel the slightest hunger, we eat. When we get a little bit cold, we reach for a jacket. When our head starts to hurt, we quickly grab a pill. And when we sense the slightest fear, we immediately try to avoid the threat.
It’s ironic, though, because while we’re designed to dodge discomfort, it’s precisely in uncomfortable situations that we grow and develop resilience.
This shows that we’re built to survive, not to thrive.
Social media is a prime example—it is increasingly designed to provide instant pleasure, and people are becoming less tolerant of differing opinions because it creates discomfort.
We’ve been taught to arrange our environment to keep ourselves as comfortable as possible, and as a result, we’re losing our ability to tolerate discomfort.
On the charts, traders become hypersensitive to every bit of pain caused by each candle movement and resort to maladaptive ways to cope. Distress tolerance is becoming a rare skill, so you’ll be at the top if you work to develop it.
Today’s edition is part two of the post “Embracing Discomfort: The Path to Trading Mastery.” We’ll take a deep look at physical versus mental discomfort, pain perception, and how you can increase your distress tolerance to become a more mentally resilient trader.