pnl

📝 What 2025 taught us about markets and life
This year reinforced lessons that only experience delivers. Not about chasing excitement, but about structure, positioning, patience, and what truly compounds over time.
➡️ Table selection matters more than timing
Underperformance across asset classes is often the first warning sign. Relative strength versus other risk assets and gold matters more than nominal price moves. Sometimes the trade is simply being in the wrong market.
➡️ Entry is only half the trade
Markets are designed to shake participants out. A thesis can be correct and still lose money if the position cannot survive volatility. Only positions that can be held through time and drawdowns deserve capital.
➡️ AI is the biggest equalizer and still underused
APIs, automation, and custom tools are no longer optional edges. The fastest way to improve is to solve real problems directly and build around them. The gap is widening between those who use AI deeply and those who do not.
➡️ Most profits come from very few trades
Strong PnL curves are usually flat or frustrating for long periods, followed by one or two decisive moves. Good traders control downside, survive boredom, and press size only when the setup truly matters.
➡️ Progress is never linear
Results are delayed. Often by months or years. The real edge is persistence. Most participants quit before compounding ever has a chance to work.
➡️ Markets are games of positioning, not opinions
Every market is an ecosystem of incentives. Who is in profit. Who is trapped. Where leverage sits. How derivatives are skewed. Understanding positioning makes price action easier to interpret.
➡️ Real edge must be internal
Borrowed conviction is fragile. Decisions need to be owned. Losses only teach lessons when they come from an internal thesis, not someone else’s view or risk profile.
➡️ Money is not the final asset
Capital buys comfort and time, but it does not outlast life itself. What remains are memories and relationships. That perspective matters when making long term decisions.
➡️ Volatility and time matter as much as direction
Direction alone is incomplete. Volatility defines survivability. Time defines whether a move can actually play out. Ignoring either leads to poor outcomes.
➡️ Percent returns matter more than nominal numbers
Risk adjusted returns are the truth. Nominal PnL creates noise and emotion. Percentage gains relative to risk taken define the quality of a trade.
2025 rewarded discipline over excitement, structure over distraction, and patience over speed. These lessons compound quietly, but they compound for those who stay in the game long enough.