I have seen too many people trapped in the 'profit-zero' death loop. It's not that they can't read the K-line or calculate the indicators correctly, but they can't get over that mental hurdle. They clearly know that frequent trading leads to losses, yet they can't help but feel the urge to trade; they know they should cut losses, yet they always think, 'Just wait a little longer for a rebound.'
Last month, a fan reached out to me. Out of a 200,000 principal, only 8,000 U remained. The trading records sent at midnight were shocking: 427 trades in three months, averaging 5 lever changes per day, with countless buy and sell points on the K-line chart. He asked me, 'Why do I lose more the more I watch the market and the harder I try?'
I didn't let him learn new indicators or give him new strategies, just asked him to do three things, and after a month, his account gradually climbed to 300,000 U. Today, I will share with you these three methods to overcome the 'mind demons.' If you often let emotions lead you, perhaps this can help you step on the brakes.
First, from "chasing the market" to "waiting for opportunities to come": changing the mindset from a "hunter" to a "farmer."
He used to watch the market for 12 hours a day, wanting to enter whenever the market moved, fearing missing any fluctuations, and as a result, the more he chased, the more wrong he got. I had him compress his watching time: only look at the market twice a day and only act on confirmed breakouts at the weekly level, such as when a certain cryptocurrency stabilizes above key moving averages on the weekly chart and the trading volume doubles, only then would he act; at other times, he wouldn't touch any fluctuations.
When he feels an urge to operate recklessly, he takes a piece of paper and copies the trading discipline: "Don’t chase what you missed, don’t hold onto losses, only trade when certain of the market," and continues copying until the heat in his heart subsides. He later told me that at first, when copying, his mind was filled with 'what if it goes up,' but by the third round of copying, he calmed down—turns out many market movements that seemed like opportunities were actually temptations.
Second, give capital a 'bulletproof vest': first protect the principal, then talk about making money.
Previously, he never set stop losses for his trades; when he lost, he would add positions to hold on, and when he made money, he would leverage his bets, with his capital running like it's naked. I had him set a strict rule:
- Each order's stop loss is strictly limited to 3%, no matter how optimistic I am about the market; when the time comes, I cut losses without hesitation;
- If profits exceed 10%, immediately adjust the stop loss to the entry price to ensure capital is not lost;
- After a loss, never add positions; after a profit, do not increase the position size—no matter if I've made three consecutive profits, I only place orders according to the initial capital ratio.
He initially thought that "being too conservative won't make big money," but after avoiding market crashes twice in a row with "capital preservation stop loss," he realized: the market doesn't lack opportunities to make money, but lacks the confidence to protect you from losing everything. Those who understand when to "hold back" can stay in the market to wait for the real big trends.
Third, replace anxiety with review: don’t focus on 'whether I made money or not,' instead, understand 'why did I make/lose money.'
He used to feel anxious and sleepless after losses, and when he made money, he would float and trade recklessly, letting outcomes dictate his emotions. I had him create a trading journal where he records two sentences after each market close: "What is the logic behind this trade? (For example, 'weekly breakout + increased trading volume')" "Where did I go wrong? (For example, 'I entered the market early without waiting for the weekly confirmation')" and absolutely no writing about 'if only I had sold' type of nonsense.
I also added a hard rule: if he experiences losses for two consecutive days, he must stop immediately, go for a run, read a book, or simply close his account to cut off the emotional chain of 'the more I lose, the more I want to earn it back.' He said that after stopping for three days following two consecutive losses, when he looked at the market again, he suddenly realized that many of his previous trades lacked logic and were all driven by emotions.
Four months later, he sent me a screenshot of his account: 300,000 U. The caption was just one sentence: "It turns out that controlling losses is more important than seizing opportunities."
I replied to him: "Because most people only see 'the pie of getting rich' but cannot see 'the shield for survival.'"
In fact, the hardest part of trading is not understanding candlesticks but controlling oneself—no greed, no panic, no impatience. If you have ever doubted yourself while staring at your account late at night, you might as well ask yourself three questions:
1. Can I spend three months practicing only 'waiting for opportunities' and 'stop loss,' without being greedy?
2. In ten market fluctuations, can you resist and only act twice, accepting it if you miss?
3. When making money, do you dare to proactively reduce positions instead of thinking 'just a bit more'?
Real transformation never starts with "being able to see more indicators" but begins with acknowledging that "slow is fast. If you need it too, then @顶级交易员阿良
