Many people entering the trading market find that their biggest opponent is not the market itself, but their own obsession.

Holding onto losing positions may sound like a sign of strong willpower, but in reality? It’s essentially avoidance. Refusing to admit a misjudgment, unwilling to face the wrong entry point, so they put all their chips on the phrase "wait a little longer." But the market doesn’t change direction because of your mood; it only responds to price and trend.

Some time ago, someone told me a story. Several consecutive trades went against him, and he stubbornly held on for days. In the end, he couldn’t take it anymore and cut everything off—resulting in a significant loss. At that moment, he only had one thought: how to make the money back.

My advice to him wasn’t to study candlestick charts and technical indicators, but— the problem wasn’t with the trades themselves, but with how he handled losses.

Once you start holding, the rhythm is completely disrupted. What was once called "trading" gradually turns into "praying"; originally acting according to a plan, but eventually only left with a hope-driven mindset. Short-term, you might dodge a few pullbacks, but as soon as the market moves deep enough, all previous luck will be wiped out in one go.

Players who can survive long-term in the market generally share similar thinking:

Admit mistakes immediately when you’re wrong, and control losses within a tolerable range; if the direction is truly wrong, don’t hesitate—exit immediately; if the trend isn’t on your side, better to stay out and wait for opportunities.

These may sound like no-skill strategies, but they can forcefully pull people out of emotional traps. The truly scarce resource isn’t market opportunities—they’re available every day— but those who still have accounts to participate with.

Stop-loss may be easy to write, but why is it so hard to execute? Isn’t it because we all think of it as too heavy? Actually, it’s just a risk management tool, as simple and straightforward as wearing a seatbelt when driving.

When you learn to step back a little when the problem isn’t too big, you can go further and more steadily.