The biological mechanism of winning is almost inscribed in the genes of all organisms.

Written by: VKTR

Compiled by: Luffy, Foresight News

After a long break, I recently started actively trading perpetual options again. It reminds me of when I first started trading in 2018. At that time, some of my favorite traders shared knowledge that forever changed my perspective on the market. I'm not good at writing, but I have always been grateful to my predecessors and hope to pass this knowledge on. Let's give it a try.

One principle I hold dear is this: The biological mechanism of winning is almost inscribed in the genes of all organisms.

When two lobsters fight, the winner's hormones surge. They are filled with serotonin and testosterone, strutting like a 'lobster bro'; while the loser curls up, sulking, entering a 'beta lobster' self-soothing mode.

This is not just random nonsense from a nature documentary. Jordan Peterson, though slightly eccentric, is fundamentally correct in his views. He talks about this for a reason. Winning really does reshape your brain; you change your posture, feel more confident, and see opportunities instead of threats. This is a process of millions of years of evolution—your brain doesn’t care whether you’re fighting for territory or competing in the market.

That's the logic of trading.

Every small profit excites you. Every profitable trade sharpens you, readying you for the next win. But in my experience, most novice traders do the exact opposite.

They chase 'get rich quick' schemes instead of accumulating boring profits; they flaunt screenshots instead of earning actual profits; they endure an 80% drawdown under the guise of 'faith'; they revenge trade after losses instead of thinking calmly; they compare their meager 2% unrealized losses to KOLs' 10x insider trading.

True winners quietly accumulate boring profits and let time do the repetitive work.

Why your brain wants you to go bankrupt.

When you fail, your serotonin plummets, your shoulders droop, and you see danger everywhere. Your risk assessment completely fails because your brain thinks you are at the bottom of the dominance hierarchy.

So, what do bankrupt traders do? They try to win back all their losses in one trade. They increase their position size, chasing the next junk coin with a market cap below $60,000. They believe some former (Fortnite) scammer’s signals posted on Telegram.

Excellent traders do the opposite. They accept losses, may take only five minutes to figure out what went wrong, and then move on. They understand that one down day in twenty up days is just noise. They protect their mindset more aggressively than their portfolio.

I often see this scenario. Someone takes a loss and immediately goes all-in with 20% of their capital on a bunch of junk coins, like watching someone continuously slap their own face without understanding why their nose hurts.

Compound interest is always underestimated.

Most people cannot understand compound interest because it starts slowly and is boring. Earning $50 on a $10,000 account might make you think, 'What’s the point?' But that's exactly why it works: boredom can make money, while thrill is costly.

Einstein called compound interest the 'eighth wonder of the world.' The person who proposed relativity held basic mathematics in such high regard—think about it.

You don’t need to make big profits every day; that’s not how the market works. Sometimes you earn 1%, sometimes you earn nothing, and sometimes you lose a little. The key is that over time, your net gains will exceed your net losses.

Take @gametheorizing as an example. I remember reading in @thiccyth0t's blog that he keeps his net worth growth to about 2x per year, spending the rest of the time in a 'Zen' state. He ensures he doesn’t overtrade or reach 'peak'. Those who make 100x often cannot hold onto their money, just like lottery and casino winners—they don’t know how to manage wealth.

What is an effective strategy?

Take profits early; stop thinking about diamond hands. The market doesn’t care about your faith; it cares about supply and demand. Always take profits when you are earning, at least a little each time.

Document your victories. Take screenshots of every win, create a folder to look at when you're feeling down. Your brain needs evidence that you are a winner, not just an abstract recollection of the moment you made money. It's okay to share realized profits, but sharing unrealized profits is usually a bad idea—ask any veteran.

Control your leverage. Start with 1x or 2x. Only increase leverage after you've proven you can be profitable even without it. Leverage amplifies everything—including your stupidity.

Set daily goals, but be realistic. Don't trade just to trade. Trade to reach your goals, then step away. Go outside, connect with nature. The market will still be there tomorrow, and it might look completely different.

Track your win rate. Prepare a simple spreadsheet or use profit and loss pages like @CoinMarketMan, @tradestream_xyz, or @AxiomExchange. If your win rate is below 60%, your strategy has issues—fix it quickly.

Establish a sense of ritual. Same setup, same time, same process. Your brain loves patterns. Create a pre-trade ritual that puts you in a winning mindset—this could be drinking coffee, reviewing your rules, or doing push-ups.

The hardest part of small wins.

Most people make mistakes when they start accumulating small wins: You must ensure your losses are small. Small wins mean you also need to control losses.

I struggled with this at first. My capital curve looked like a Thanksgiving turkey chart—small gains followed by one huge drop erasing weeks of profits. This may be the hardest part of the entire strategy, but it is non-negotiable. A strategy of small wins and large losses will slowly destroy your account.

Losers do this: They blame others for manipulating the market. They change strategies every week. They join Discord servers looking for 'alpha'. They are addicted to gambling instead of treating it like a business.

Winners behave like this: They take their losses, learn all the lessons, and prepare for tomorrow. They understand that trading is a marathon, not a sprint. They know that persistence is more important than thrill.

A single loss among dozens of victories has almost no impact on the outcome.

The true path to success.

While others bet on the next L1 meme coin, you might be building a genuinely effective strategy. While they stare at open positions all day, you might be working towards your goals and then hitting the gym.

The real advantage is not some secret trading strategy, but self-discipline. It's about treating trading as a business rather than a casino. It's about understanding that the goal is not to be right, but to be profitable.

Most traders trade to be right, while winners trade to make money—there's a huge difference.

Slowly getting rich is boring and not cool at all. Your junk posts won’t go viral due to stable profits. But do you know what’s even less interesting? Being poor at 30 because you chased a never-coming 100x 'faith position' in your 20s.

Most people flaunting Lamborghinis on social media are actually poor. They live off a single 'moonshot' to show off on social media, only to lose it all.

Of course, there are many exceptions, but most of the time, the real winners are the ones you don't see.

Just win.

Small victories build momentum, and momentum puts you in a flow state. Lock in profits, boost your confidence, and become the lobster that controls the rocks.

Stop trying to prove you are smart; start proving you are disciplined. It's either win or be poor.