Trading is not about being smart, but about 'enduring' - written for brothers in confusion.
You are not alone.
Many people think trading success relies on quick reactions, clever minds, advanced skills, and high win rates, but the reality is that - most traders who survive do not rely on talent, but on sheer perseverance.
I'm not a genius either. When I first entered the industry, I frequently traded, went all-in, chased highs and sold lows, and held on without stop losses. I fell into every pit that retail traders do.
Later I understood that trading is not about who is smarter, but about who can endure more.
01. Enduring the 'Cognitive Anxiety Period' - From 'Learning a Lot' to 'Using it Precisely'.
When I just entered the field in 2019, I thought losses were due to insufficient skills, so I learned crazily:
Wave theory, Bollinger Bands, K-line combinations, moving average systems, Gann theory...
I watched various influencers analyze, listened to all kinds of 'teachers' give lectures, and tested countless strategies.
And the result?
Indicators often conflict; Indicator A signals a rise, Indicator B signals a fall.
Different schools of thought clash, and the more I learn, the more confused I get.
Constantly switching systems, continuously losing money, falling into self-doubt.
This is not a technical issue, but a cognitive anxiety.
You learn too much but don’t know how to apply it; you see too much but have no judgment framework of your own.
Later I did two things:
Delete 90% of indicators and keep only the most essential 1-2 (like moving averages + volume).
Only trade one type of market (like trend breakthroughs or pullback buys), and stop trying to catch everything.
After simplifying, trading became clearer.
I no longer pursue 'understanding more', but rather 'understanding clearly'.
If you don’t endure through this cognitive anxiety, you will forever be stuck in switching systems and strategies, and your trading will remain stagnant.
02. Enduring the 'Capital Drawdown Period' - From 'Dream of Getting Rich' to 'Survival First'
The most common mistake beginners make is overestimating short-term gains while underestimating long-term risks.
Always thinking about 'doubling in one go', only to go all-in and lose everything in a few days.
When I made 10%, I thought it was too little; when I lost 50%, I held on, and ended up blowing my account.
Seeing others making big profits, my mentality exploded, and I followed the crowd blindly.
Later I understood:
Trading is not about who makes money faster, but about who survives longer.
Real profit comes not from single huge gains, but from stable compound interest.
I started doing two things:
Do not risk more than 5% of your capital on a single trade (even if you are very optimistic, avoid all-in bets).
Enforce a stop loss if losses exceed 10% (do not fantasize about 'holding on to recover').
The drawdown period is the hardest to endure, but only by getting through it can you truly understand the value of 'risk control'.
03. Enduring the 'Mental Breakdown Period' - From 'Emotional Trading' to 'Mechanical Execution'
The hardest part of trading is not the technique, but the mentality.
After several consecutive stop losses, I began to doubt the system and acted randomly.
Running with a small profit and holding on during losses, ultimately getting stuck.
Seeing others make money, I FOMO chased the rise, only to take the fall.
Later I realized:
The market does not care about your emotions, but emotions will make you lose money.
A true trading expert is not one who has no emotions, but one who can control their emotions.
My solution:
Write a trading journal, recording the logic behind each trade to avoid emotional trading.
Set fixed trading times, do not stare at the screen, and do not trade frequently.
Accept losses, treat stop losses as costs, not failures.
The mental breakdown period is the most painful, but only by getting through it can you truly achieve 'unity of knowledge and action'.
Summary: Trading is not about who is smarter, but about who can endure more.
Enduring the 'Cognitive Anxiety Period' - From 'Learning a Lot' to 'Using it Precisely'.
Enduring the 'Capital Drawdown Period' - From 'Dream of Getting Rich' to 'Survival First'.
Enduring the 'Mental Breakdown Period' - From 'Emotional Trading' to 'Mechanical Execution'.
On the path of trading, 90% of people fail halfway, not because they aren't smart enough, but because they can't hold on.
You are not a genius, and neither am I.
What we can do is hold on a little longer than others.
Endure, survive, and you win.
