Getting caught on the first day of trading on an exchange seems to be a curse that most people are under.

Every day, chasing highs and lows, watching market sentiment, studying various indicators—only to realize when you hit a wall—that it’s never the market that defeats you, but rather your flawed trading logic from the start.

It took me a lot of losses to understand one principle: instead of spending time trying to predict market movements, it’s better to focus on designing a reliable trading framework.

Before each trade, I ask myself three questions: How do I cut losses if I’m wrong? How do I take profits in stages? And when must I withdraw this money from my account? If I haven’t thought through these questions thoroughly, I absolutely won’t make a move.

A particularly important detail—whenever the profits in my account exceed the principal, I force myself to withdraw the money. Because those profits that have been sitting in the account will eventually be taken back by the market, with interest. The only truly yours are the profits that have been separated from the trading market and are in your hands.

As for the saying "Identify the right direction and ride it to the end"? That’s basically nonexistent in the market. Consolidation and fluctuation are the norm, so my strategy is to diversify participation—different logic, different positions, building positions in multiple stages. Even if I’m completely wrong in my judgment, the losses stay within controllable limits; once the direction is correct, the risk-reward ratio naturally amplifies.

My success rate isn’t high, but I’ve survived longer. Stop-loss isn’t about admitting defeat; it’s a ticket to stay at the table. As long as I’m not knocked out in one go, the big opportunities will eventually come my way.

What does trading ultimately come down to? It’s not about who has the sharpest eye, but who can still sit steadily at the front. The market’s biggest fear isn’t your mistakes, but that one mistake will completely knock you out.

In the past, I was groping around in the dark; now I hold a lamp in my hand. The lamp is on—are you coming along?