Author: ian

Compiled by: Luffy, Foresight News

Lately, I've heard many unfortunate stories from investors: their profits have plummeted sharply, or even lost everything. But don't lose hope, since you've made profits before, you can do it again. I've had similar experiences, so I'd like to share some thoughts on how to bounce back.

Treat trading as a game

Do you remember the first time you entered the fantasy world of "Elden Ring" and were brutally defeated by the Watchdog of the Erdtree more than a dozen times before figuring out the "kite" strategy? Do you remember the feeling when you finally reached the Platinum rank after being stuck in the Bronze rank for several months?

After experiencing countless "rug pulls" (project owners running away with the funds), you earned your first 5x return on a Memecoin. After months of hard work, you received your first generous airdrop. In those moments, dopamine surges, and a sense of achievement fills you!

Take a break from the noise, return to real life

If you are currently depressed due to investment losses, consider hitting the pause button. Return to your real-life, spend more time with family and friends. Maintain a regular routine, eat healthily, exercise vigorously, and revitalize your body and mind. Treat these seemingly unrelated daily activities as side quests to improve yourself. Just like in a game, when you complete the side quests well, your character attributes increase, allowing you to tackle the main challenges more confidently.

Be aware that the market never lacks opportunities, as long as you stay sharp and prepared, you'll be able to capture them again. But the prerequisite is that you have a healthy physique and a clear mind.

Return to the "battlefield" with a strategy first

When you've adjusted your state and are ready to re-enter the investment "battlefield", don't rush in. Before starting, write down all the mistakes you made in the last round and develop a plan, a risk management framework that you must follow.

A qualified framework should include rules for capital allocation, risk exposure, and most importantly, profit-taking rules. I've witnessed too many investors, as soon as they made some profits, were driven by greed to rashly reinvest the profits into high-risk new projects, only to end up with nothing. Remember, only when you safely pocket the profits, convert them into fiat currency, use them to pay off debts or express gratitude to your family, can that truly be considered your wealth.

Journey with a team

If you don't have a team yet, find or create a small, high-quality core discussion group that you can trust. Solo gaming is cool, but completing the game with a skilled, diversified team is even better and more fun.

Resource management

Now that you're rejuvenated and have a plan, how do you start? In every game, you need resources to snowball your way to victory.

In "Age of Empires", you have wood, food, stone, and gold; in "League of Legends", you have gold, mana, etc.; in chess, you have pieces and time. In investment trading, your capital and time are your resources.

In my view, there are two ways to balance these resources when you're starting over or stuck in an investment dilemma:

1. Extreme Maximization Mode

You work in the Web3 space, ideally at a fund or research institution. This allows you to be immersed in this "game" 24/7. The intensity is high, and your dedication is also high. You're always online, browsing Twitter and Telegram in your spare time. Your life revolves around cryptocurrencies. Insider information will be privately messaged to you, and opportunities will present themselves every now and then.

You'll level up quickly because you're always at the forefront, but it's also very tiring. It's easy to burn out. If you don't carefully allocate time for your side quests (like returning to real life and maintaining health), you're likely to fall into a narrow-minded trap. This is the classic trade-off of extreme maximization.

2. Balanced Mode

If you can only invest a much smaller amount of time in this "game", then choose this mode. You may have a Web2 job (which is your forte), or a non-research/investment job in the crypto space. You won't be browsing Twitter all day, nor will you be hanging out in Telegram or Discord channels.

That's fine! The frequency of operations is low, but you can still generate resources consistently. You can still win like the turtle in the fable of the tortoise and the hare.

You won't be anxious about every market trend change. You have time to look at problems from a macro perspective, make more confident decisions, and avoid emotional outbursts. You may choose to simply invest in mainstream cryptocurrencies on a regular basis, and your performance may exceed that of the average retail trader. If you wish, over time, you'll be able to self-fund the transition to the Extreme Maximization mode to achieve exponential growth in the later stage.

Find your motivation

On the long journey of investing, occasionally ask yourself: why did you get into this field? Is it for financial freedom and more choices in life? Or is it to prove yourself? Regardless of the answer, when one day your account balance soars, you will suddenly realize: the "game" of investing has become integrated into your life, becoming a career that you continuously love and relentlessly pursue.