Discipline is the only amulet.
The night she found me, it was already ten o'clock, and her voice carried the fatigue of overtime.
"Teacher, this 2000U is what I've saved up over two months by being frugal, along with occasional income from writing gigs. If I lose it again, there will really be no way to pay for my child's interest class next month."
I listened to her narration, feeling a tightness in my heart. There are too many stories like this in the crypto world – entering with a mindset of a final gamble, yet unaware that they are standing on the edge of a cliff.
A single mother, whose career and children have exhausted most of her energy, still wants to find a way out in the volatile cryptocurrency market. I understand the hope in this despair, but I also recognize the dangers within.
Start cautiously: take solid steps
On the first day, I only let her use 10% of her position to build her position. She sent me three messages in a row: “With such a small position, when can I see significant returns?”
I replied to her: “What we pursue is not speed, but making sure every step is solid. The first lesson of survival in the crypto space is patience; many people fall before dawn.”
She was silent for ten minutes and then replied: “Listen to the teacher, I trust you.”
In the following days, she indeed demonstrated astonishing execution power. During lunch breaks, she often hid in the stairwell of the office to review trades with me, always adding at the end of each message, “Am I not wasting your time?”
From 2000U to 2600U, then to 5000U, she strictly followed the rules at every step. After each profit, she would first transfer a portion to a separate account, calling it “child's safety funds,” while the principal continued to roll according to discipline.
Position management is the cornerstone of survival, and I repeatedly emphasize this point. She initially executed very well: not exceeding 20% for a single cryptocurrency position, building positions in three batches, and strictly stopping losses.
Turning point: when caution gives way to confidence
After 25 days, her account had grown to 51,000U. It was at this point that problems began to arise.
She sent a screenshot: “Teacher, my best friend wants to follow along; can I take her with me?”
I felt a sinking feeling in my heart. The caution in her words had disappeared, replaced by an undeniable restlessness. Overconfidence is a precursor to losses; after consecutive profits, traders often overestimate their abilities.
Sure enough, on the 32nd day, she heavily invested in a newly launched altcoin without consulting me and only informed me after losing 41%.
I asked her why she didn’t communicate in advance; she replied firmly: “I saw its trading volume rising quickly and thought I had figured out the rules.”
In the crypto space, when you think you’ve figured out the rules, it is often the most dangerous time. A trader I know once lost over 5000 dollars overnight due to a similar mindset.
Why did I choose to block?
On the 35th day, I blocked her. Not because she was losing money, but because she had already forgotten the most important lesson: in the crypto space, long-term survival relies on discipline, not a single correct prediction.
Her success in growing from 2000U to 50,000U became the root of her failure. The increase in account funds misled her into misjudging her ability boundaries, not realizing that the market has countless ways to teach those who do not follow the rules.
The biggest trap in the crypto space is that it occasionally rewards those who lack discipline, but this is just a “sweet trap” that will ultimately lead to greater losses.
Four key understandings for survival in the crypto space
Through this case, I want to share a few core insights:
1. The safety of principal is always the priority
Only invest spare money; never use essential living funds for trading. I have personally seen people fall into despair due to heavy losses, and some even resorted to extreme measures due to Bitcoin theft.
2. Position management is more important than timing
Successful traders often focus more on position management rather than trying to predict market peaks and troughs. “Don’t go all in, diversify your purchases, and avoid hasty corrections.” These nine words are worth remembering for everyone in the crypto space.
3. Taking profits requires more discipline than cutting losses
When losing, people can still recognize risk, but when making profits, they often forget to take profits. Greed is the biggest enemy of profit. Setting clear profit-taking points and strictly executing them is key to preserving profits.
4. Mindset determines ultimate success or failure
Cryptocurrency trading is not just a battle of technology and strategy, but also a psychological game. Fear, greed, and FOMO are the arch-enemies of investors. Before making any trading decision, first examine whether your emotional state is rational.
Final advice
The story of that single mother is a microcosm of countless similar stories in the crypto space. How many people have managed to grow from 2000U to 50,000U, only to ultimately fail due to the words “overextended”?
The crypto space does not create wealth; it is merely a redistributor of wealth—from those without discipline to those with discipline.
True wisdom in the crypto space is not about how many times you catch a surge, but being able to withdraw in time before a crash, staying calm in the frenzy, and maintaining rationality in fear.
I hope everyone who enters this market first learns to survive before considering profits. Because only those who survive can wait for their own opportunities.
Have you ever suffered losses in trading due to an unbalanced mindset? Feel free to share your experiences—perhaps your lessons can help others avoid repeating mistakes.
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