Are you like this too: when it rises a bit, you want to cash out for safety; when it falls, you’re reluctant to cut losses?
I used to be like that. With 20,000 yuan in principal, I’d rush to exit after earning 1,000, only to watch the subsequent doubling opportunities slip away right in front of me. But what about when I was losing money? I’d stubbornly hold on, until my account shrank by 80% before admitting defeat. At that moment, I finally understood—the problem isn’t the market, but human nature.
**Why does this happen?**
When it rises by 3%, I want to run—that’s called the certainty effect—we’re afraid of losing the profits we’ve gained. When we lose 20%, we keep gambling—that’s called the reflection effect—we fantasize about turning it around. To put it simply, when making money, we act like mice, turning and running; when losing money, we act like ostriches, burying our heads in the sand.
The real awakening came after a 7-day liquidation. That time, I heavily invested in a "potential coin," which evaporated 80% overnight. Since then, I completely changed my approach: no longer chasing hot stories, only focusing on the mainstream coins that have been beaten down the most, like Bitcoin and Ethereum; allocate 5% of the position to test the waters, cut immediately if wrong—treat it as buying a cup of milk tea for the market; as long as there’s profit, withdraw the principal first, and set a trailing stop for the remaining profit to keep the bullets flying.
**The secret to truly surviving is actually very simple: discipline outweighs prediction.**
The market loves to take down smart people, but it rewards those who can stick to discipline—the "fools." How exactly? Don’t guess the bottom, don’t chase the top, only trade in the middle of the trend; before opening a position, decide where your stop-loss will be, and cut decisively if it hits that point; protect profitable trades with trailing stops, so emotions no longer command your actions.
Now, my account still loses money sometimes, but it will never crash again. Because I’ve understood a principle: as long as I can control the loss size, the profits will grow on their own.
If you’re also tired of the vicious cycle of "small profits, big losses," start changing your mindset today. Treat each stop-loss as tuition, each profit as a seed for compound growth. Opportunities are always there in the market, but your principal is just one—there’s no turning back.