Many people have this logic in their heads when they first learn trading:
I am bullish → I should buy
I am bearish → I should sell immediately / short
The reality is —
The direction judgment was correct, but the position is still losing money.
Bullish, chasing at the short-term high, getting stuck
Bearish, chasing at the bottom price, just finished shorting and then it rebounds
The conclusion is:
"The market is against me."
In fact, it's not the market targeting you, but rather you have mixed two completely different things together:
"View (bullish, bearish)" ≠ "Operation (buy, sell)"
In today's article, we'll clarify this line for you.
1. 'Bullish, bearish' is just a 'directional thought'
First, clarify:
Bullish = you believe that prices are likely to rise in the near future
Bearish = you believe that prices are likely to fall in the near future
Pay attention to several keywords:
Is 'thinking'
Is 'in the near future'
Is 'high probability', not certainty
So 'bullish/bearish' is essentially a directional viewpoint,
Only answer one question:
Which way is it more likely to go next?
But it doesn't answer these key questions:
At what price level is it more appropriate to enter?
Where to place the stop loss?
Is the profit-loss ratio reasonable at different price levels?
Is the risk at this position suitable for your current capital and mindset?
These questions are not within the scope of 'bullish/bearish'.
Many people stumble here: taking a 'directional viewpoint' as a 'reason for immediate action'.
2. 'Buying and selling' are decisions with price and risk
What truly determines your account's fate is not how you see it, but how you act.
Buying / selling / shorting / closing these actions,
each should include three things:
Price:
Is this price worth taking action?
Is the risk/reward ratio reasonable?
Position:
Is it buying near support, or chasing near resistance?
Is it following up after a breakout, or entering during a pullback?
Risk:
Where to place the stop loss?
If this loss occurs, will it affect your overall capital security?
In simple terms:
'Bullish or bearish' is an idea;
'Buy or sell' is the execution with price and risk.
There is a whole set of things in between:
Trading plan
Position management
Entry and exit logic
If you compress them into one action - 'I am bullish, so I buy',
then what you are doing is still emotional trading.
3. The four situations that are most easily confused
We use a 'four quadrants' to help you sort it out:
1. Bullish + not buying (very normal)
Many people may feel: 'I am bullish, but am I stupid for not buying?'
Not necessarily.
Bullish ≠ this price is worth buying.
Common reasons:
You are bullish in the medium to long term, but in the short term, it has risen too quickly
Now at a local high, the space is small, the risk is large
You are more willing to wait for a pullback / wait for a breakthrough at key positions before considering
It's like you think a company is good in the long run,
but it has already risen to a serious overvaluation,
you will think:
'It's good, but this price is not suitable for me right now.'
This is not called deviation, this is called having a strategy.
2. Bearish + not shorting (also very normal)
You can be bearish on a position,
but still choose:
Not shorting
Or just reducing positions on existing long orders for profit, not reversing to short
The reasons may include:
The support below is very close, and the shorting space is not large
The risk-reward ratio is not favorable
You are not good at shorting, only taking long opportunities
Market fluctuations are too large, once it pulls back, it can easily hit your stop loss
So you can understand it this way:
Being bearish is a reminder to be cautious;
Shorting means you are willing to bet real money in that direction.
There can be a long distance between the two.
3. Bullish + random buying = direction is right, still losing
Typical crash scene:
You are bullish on a certain asset
It has continuously pulled several bullish candles, and you become more excited
Finally unable to resist chasing in at a short-term high range
Next, the price normalizes and pulls back
You can't stand the volatility and cut losses midway
Later, the market really moves in the 'bullish direction' you initially thought, but you have already exited
You will feel:
'The direction is right, why am I still losing?'
Because what you are doing is:
Emotional highs + random stop losses,
and not:
A pre-planned entry position + preset risks.
4. Bearish + random shorts = stepping on the floor
The reverse is also true:
You are bearish
The market has already dropped significantly from above
You finally made up your mind to short at a local low point
Just shorted, and a big bullish candle pulls back
After your stop loss, the market may continue to fall, but you have already been forced out of the position
The direction may not be wrong,
the problem lies in -
You did the correct directional thing at the wrong position and rhythm.
4. Why do professional traders always treat 'being flat' as the third choice?
Many novices' logic is:
Bullish → either buy or miss out
Bearish → either short or miss out
The logic of professional traders is:
Bullish → can: not buy now, wait for a better position
Bearish → can: just reduce positions, not reverse to short
Not clear → the best action is:Being flat
Being flat is essentially also a position choice.
When you focus only on 'long or short'
Professional players have one more option: not to play
This is why many people clearly watch the market longer,
but the returns are not as good as those who 'only take action a few times a day'.
You can always choose:
'I am bullish, but I am not buying now.'
'I am bearish, but I am just defending, not aggressively shorting.'
This point is precisely one of the cores that distinguish trading from gambling.
5. Three small suggestions for trading novices
Finally, I will give you three very practical actions,
You can start practicing from today:
1) Clearly write: which part of you are 'bullish / bearish' on?
It is useless to vaguely say 'I am bullish' in your mind.
At least it should be refined to:
What I am bullish on is: the next week / month / the next few hours?
What I am bullish on is: from which range to which range?
Time period + price range is unclear,
Then it is just emotion, not a viewpoint.
2) Learn to say one sentence: 'I am bullish, but I am not buying now.'
This statement seems simple,
but is actually very counterintuitive.
This means you are doing three things:
Admit that you can't buy at the lowest, and don't buy at emotional highs
Accepting 'missing part of the market' is a normal cost
Pull yourself out of the gambler's mode of 'wanting to jump at every opportunity'
Similarly:
'I am bearish, but I am not shorting now.'
It is also a form of maturity.
3) Before pressing buy/sell each time, first answer three questions
In the future, you can develop a small habit:
Before preparing to take action, quickly run through in your mind:
Which cycle am I bullish/bearish on?
Is my entry position in this order chasing highs or lows, or after a pullback/breakout?
If this order is wrong, where is my stop loss and maximum loss? Can I bear it?
If you feel uneasy about any of these three questions,
then this order is most likely an emotional order.
Not opening may be a better choice.