Trend Following is a Spiritual Experience

Dropping of Doership!!

It was one of those weekend mornings when I felt particularly Zen (read: lazy), sipping my tea in my cutting-chai glass, I was disturbed by a call from my Trend following friend and an interesting conversation ensued.

“Bro, trend following is like nirvana,” he proclaimed. “I have side stepped my ego from my portfolio.”

Ah, yes. The wise words of someone who probably made a killing doing momentum investing in the last 5 years. I couldn’t resist poking holes in his philosophy. “Nirvana, huh? Is that conclusion based on SEQUENCE BIAS. What if these drawdowns had come at the start of the journey.

But the more I thought about it, and more we talked, the more it made sense. Trend following is spiritual, and not in a “light incense sticks while watching candlestick charts” kind of way. Let me break it down.

Dropping the Doership

If you’ve ever dabbled in trend following, you know this: it’s not about you. That sounds harsh, right? But it’s liberating.

You don’t predict, you don’t control, and you certainly don’t fight the market. You’re just a passenger, hitching a ride on a trend. Like a surfer riding a wave, your job isn’t to shape the ocean — it’s to drop the delusion that you can.

There’s a certain humility in this. You realize you’re not the doer. The market doesn’t care about your opinion or your perfectly backtested system. It moves as it pleases, and your job is to sync with it, not wrestle it into submission. This is where trend following becomes deeply spiritual — because letting go of the need to control isn’t just a trading lesson; it’s a life lesson.

Observing Without Judgment

Ever tried watching a trend form without panicking? It’s harder than it looks. Humans are wired to judge. We see green candles, we think, It’s a trap! We see red candles, we think, I should’ve sold!

Trend following forces you to shut off that hyperactive, judgmental part of your brain. Your job is simple: observe. If the trend persists, you follow. If it ends, you exit. No stories, no drama, no “What if I’m wrong?” nonsense.

It’s almost meditative. You’re training yourself to see things as they are, not as you wish they were. The market becomes your guru, slapping you every time you try to impose your will on reality. And trust me, the market slaps harder than any Zen master ever could.

Transcending the Anxiety of Outcome

Here’s where trend following truly shines. Most people approach trading like a high-stakes poker game, with clenched jaws and sweaty palms. But trend followers? They’re different.

Why? Because they’ve transcended the need to know the outcome. They’ve accepted uncertainty as the natural state of things. They don’t ask, “Will this trade work out?” Instead, they say, “If it works, I’ll ride it. If it doesn’t, I’ll cut it.”

It’s like flipping a coin but without obsessing over whether it lands heads or tails. You’re free because you’re not attached to the outcome. Now, If that’s not spiritual, I don’t know what is!!!

The Ultimate Irony: Spirituality in Greed’s Playground

Here’s the kicker. Trend following, with all its Zen-like qualities, exists in one of the greediest, most cutthroat arenas known to mankind: the financial markets. How’s that for irony? It’s like finding enlightenment at a casino table or achieving mindfulness while waiting for your OLA driver to find your location.

But that’s the beauty of it. Trend following teaches us that even in chaos, there is order. Even in greed, there is detachment. It’s not about chasing wealth; it’s about mastering yourself.

The funny thing about trend following is that the more you practice it, the less “active” you become. There’s no grinding, no forcing trades, no constant tweaking. You’re just there, quietly observing, following the rhythm of the market like a monk chanting in a monastery.

This simplicity is deceptive. People think trading is about constant action — researching, analyzing, predicting. But trend following strips all that away. It’s about being present, accepting what is, and aligning yourself with forces bigger than you.

Closing Thoughts

So, is trend following really a spiritual experience? I’d argue yes. It’s about surrendering control, observing without judgment, and transcending the anxiety of outcomes. And if you can do all that while riding the wild rollercoaster of market trends, you might just find a little bit of enlightenment along the way.

But hey, don’t take my word for it. Like all things spiritual, it’s a journey you have to experience for yourself. Just remember to set your stop losses. Even Buddha wouldn’t advise going all in.

Comments are welcome. But if you disagree, you’re probably just fighting the trend, lol