Have you ever been taken by FOMO, the fear of missing out? Been told to divorce yourself from emotions while investing or trading? I have tried, but never figured out how to do that. What are emotions anyway?
If you’re new to trading—like many of us were at the start—you know how tough it can be to stay sharp during a long market session. The charts look the same after a while, your mind wanders, and suddenly you miss a chance to buy low or sell high. It’s frustrating, but it’s normal.
Today, we’re talking about something called “tonic alertness.” Don’t worry—I’ll keep it simple. It’s basically your mind’s way of staying ready and focused over time, without getting tired or distracted. For us everyday traders following trends or quick moves, this can make a big difference in spotting good opportunities and avoiding mistakes.
Think of it as the quiet background energy that keeps you alert, like when you’re driving a long stretch of road and need to stay watchful without dozing off. We’ll break it down, compare it to a quicker kind of focus, and share easy ways to build it into your routine. No fancy terms or complex setups—just practical steps to help you trade more steadily.
What Is Tonic Alertness, and Why Does It Matter for You?
In plain terms, tonic alertness is your mind’s steady level of wakefulness and attention. It lasts for minutes or even hours, helping you keep your eyes on the task without fading.
- What It Does: It acts like a foundation, stopping those moments when your focus slips. In trading, this means you can watch a stock’s price move without getting bored or missing a simple signal, like a price pulling back before heading up again.
- How Long It Lasts: It’s built for the long game—think a full morning of checking your watchlist or reviewing a chart.
- How You Control It: It’s up to you to start and keep it going. Before the market opens, you might take a deep breath and remind yourself to stay present.
A real example: You’re watching a stock that’s been climbing steadily. Tonic alertness helps you notice when it dips a bit (a good cue to buy more) instead of running for the fridge for another snack and overlooking it. Without it, small distractions can lead to bigger misses.
From what we know about the mind, this steady focus ties into areas that keep you aroused and ready—not in an exciting way, but in a calm, reliable one. The key takeaway? Better tonic alertness means fewer “I should’ve seen that” regrets, especially when you’re learning the ropes.
Steady Focus vs. Quick Focus: Two Sides of Staying Alert and Avoiding FOMO
Tonic alertness works best when you understand its partner: phasic alertness. That’s the sudden jolt of attention, like jumping when you hear a loud noise. FOMO strikes under the category of phasic alertness. Together, however, tonic and phasic alertness help you handle both: the slow build of a trade, and the fast surprises (creating FOMO).
Here’s a simple side-by-side to see the difference:
| Aspect | Steady Focus (Tonic Alertness) | Quick Focus (Phasic Alertness) |
|---|---|---|
| Strength | Your everyday readiness level. | A short, sharp boost. |
| What Starts It | You keep it going yourself over time. | Something sudden, like a news alert or price jump. |
| How Long | Minutes to hours—great for watching trends. | Just seconds—fades fast. |
| What It Helps With | Staying engaged so your attention doesn’t drop. | Reacting quick to surprises, cutting down delay. |
| Trading Example | Keeping an eye on a stock’s chart for an hour to see if it’s still moving up. | Getting a market news ping and checking your positions right away. |
The combo is powerful: Use steady focus to stay in the game during quiet times, and quick focus to handle the action when it hits. For beginners, this balance stops you from either zoning out completely or jumping at every little thing.
I remember a session where the market was calm for hours—my steady focus kept me patient, and when a small news item popped up, my quick reaction let me adjust without panic. It turned a flat day into a small win.
I also admit that at times, my tonic alertness seemed to wobble, if not even vanish. I remember the early Bitcoin days in 2018, when the price action surged from around $8,000 to $20,000. I was all in then (afflicted by FOMO), but lost interest in trading while Bitcoin crashed back into the $1,000s again.
To be honest, trading for profit does not arouse my interest enough to be glued to my trading platform all day long. Other things in life matter more to me. But, then again, we all need to earn our living one way or another, or perhaps only enjoy making a bit of money to fill the coin bucket. I might as well call myself a reluctant trader.
So, putting this site together and knowing that others benefit from it helps me keep my tonic alertness going for trading. But I am not emotionally overinvested in it, and that might be my weakness on the one hand (I have missed many opportunities) and my strength on the other (I haven’t lost my house). There is always a new opportunity around the corner!
Are you a bit like me? A trend-and-momentum strategy might be a good fit for you.
Easy Ways to Strengthen Your Steady Focus
No more FOMO. You don’t need special tools to improve this—just a few habits to weave into your day. Start small and build from there.
- Start Strong Each Morning: Take 5 minutes before trading to get centered. Close your eyes, think about your plan for the day (like which stocks to watch), and check how you feel on a scale of 1 to 10. If you’re below a 6, step away for a short walk or stretch. This sets your focus from the get-go.
- Quick Checks During the Day: Every hour or so, pause for 20 seconds. Ask yourself: “Am I still paying attention, or has my mind wandered?” Make a quick note if needed. It helps catch drifts early, like when boredom creeps in during a slow market.
- End on a Good Note: After trading, jot down what helped or hurt your focus (too many tabs open? Not enough breaks?). The next day, tweak one thing. And unwind with something non-trading, like reading a book, to recharge.
Try these, and you’ll notice yourself staying sharper longer. It took me a few weeks to make them routine, but now I handle longer sessions without as much fatigue.
Make Steady Focus Part of Your Anti-FOMO Trading Routine
As a newer trader, building tonic alertness is like adding a quiet superpower to your kit. It helps you stay patient during trends and quick when needed, without FOMO and burnout. Pair it with good basics—like having a simple plan, knowing when to buy and when to walk away, managing your trade sizes, and using stop orders—and you’ll feel more in control.
(Quick note: Trading involves risk—start small, learn as you go, and never risk more than you can afford.)