“When you wish someone joy, you wish them peace, love, prosperity and happiness… all good things.”
—Maya Angelou, American poet

Joy is one of the central emotions of this holiday season.  Just ask a child what he is getting for Christmas, and you’ll see him exude joy as he describes his wish list.

Joy abounds this Christmas and Hanukkah season, regardless of the over commercialization of the nature of gift giving. There is the delight in thinking about, researching, and finding the perfect gift for someone you love.  We enjoy the warm feeling of seeing family and friends that we may not otherwise see during the rest of the year.  And there is the undeniable joy of holding a present in our hands—a gift to us that is full of possibility and hope.

Even the spiritual backdrop of the season is rife with feelings of joy.  The story of Hanukkah is one that ends in joy: The Seleucid king Antiochus IV took Jerusalem by force, outlawed the practice of Judaism, and defiled the Jewish temple.  A successful revolt followed, and the Israelites reclaimed their temple.  In the rededication of the holy place, the now famous story about one day’s worth of sacred oil that miraculously burned for eight days when there was no other oil available was born.    

A Jewish Historian recorded the actions of the victorious leader of the revolt, Judas Maccabeus, “Now Judas celebrated the festival of the restoration of the sacrifices of the temple for eight days, and omitted no sort of pleasures thereon; but he feasted them upon very rich and splendid sacrifices; and he honored God, and delighted them by hymns and psalms. Nay, they were so very glad at the revival of their customs, when, after a long time of intermission, they unexpectedly had regained the freedom of their worship, that they made it a law for their posterity, that they should keep a festival, on account of the restoration of their temple worship, for eight days.”

The joy was not about the miracle of the oil, but about the revival of religious customs and the rededication of the temple. Such a celebration of fine food and rejoicing, and the glad hearts that were exhibited, point to the joy that surrounded the first celebrations of this time-honored festival.  

A century and a half later, a baby born to a working class family and laid in a manger elicited great exclamations of joy.  The announcement of the baby’s birth was not made to kings and queens, but to lowly shepherds.  As Luke wrote in his gospel account, an angel appeared to the sheep herders amid the “glory of the Lord” and said, “Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.”

In a season filed with such a foundation of joy, let’s explore how being in a state a joy can benefit us as traders and investors, and how we can live in that state more often.

The Benefits of Joy

My hunch was that there would be a bunch of research on the benefits of being in a joyful state.  I was not disappointed.  But first I needed to understand the language that psychologists use to describe joy. In an oversimplification, they use the term “well-being”—a combination of two key components: joy and contentment.   A search on the combined terms “well-being” and “cognitive function” returned millions of hits and tons of research. 

The first study I read was research done on 11,234 participants where well-being was measured using a standardized test and cognitive function was tested as well.  In short, those who placed in the top quintile of well-being outscored those in the lowest quintile on a battery of cognitive tests by a statistically significant margin.  Simply put, the results showed that a joyful state led to higher cognitive function.

Looking over the research, there is tangible evidence that a joyful state provides, at minimum, three things:

• Improved cognitive function (more efficient and effective thinking).
• Greater physical energy.
• Optimistic expectations of performance.

These are all useful benefits for traders and investors!  Who doesn’t want to think more clearly or have more energy?

In the current market environment, we are experiencing is a combination of regulatory, monetary, and technological changes that are reducing cycle times and expanding volatility. Today we’ll concentrate on the volatility issues and leave the cycle time reduction for future discussion.

Attaining a Joyful State

Van has long advocated the usefulness of controlling your mental state.  Research (and common sense!) suggests that attaining a state of joy can be very useful for trading and investing.  Whether you’re analyzing what’s on the monitors as a day trader, or digging into research for long-term investments, doing so in a joyful state will add efficiency and a sense of fun.

Van suggests assessing your emotional state at the beginning of every day.  Drilling down into that thought, I’d suggest keeping track of how joyful you are the start of every trading or research session.  Use a number scale of 1 – 10.  The very act of assessing yourself will lead to positive improvements.

The second concept is to use is anchoring: recall a joyful memory. Remembering a trade that went well or a person that brings you joy are good places to start.  The use of positive anchors is a time-tested method for achieving a desired state.

I’ve saved the best for last.  If you get to a place where you just plain can’t get into a joyful state, drop what you’re doing and help someone.  The simplest act of kindness toward another person has amazing effects on our sense of well-being.  There are neighbors who could use a helping hand, and ministries and volunteer organizations right where you live that would love to have another person help lighten the load.  Giving of self is the simplest path to living in a state of joy.

Too many traders and investors enter the markets fighting against trends, positions, even against self.  Try consciously approaching the markets in a state of joy. I think you’ll find the experience (and the results) much more appealing.

Whether you light a menorah, decorate a Christmas tree, or enjoy some other spiritual tradition, may you experience all the joy, hope, and love this season has to offer!

I’d love to hear your thoughts and feedback—just send an email to  drbarton “at” vantharp.com.  Until next week…

Great Trading,
D. R.

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