Key insights
- The author discusses their decision to take profits based on technical indicators and a contrarian view. They argue that the difficulty in trading lies not in cutting losses, but in securing gains before market sentiment shifts and profits erode. This suggests a cautious approach to current market conditions, implying a slightly bearish outlook, though not explicitly stated.
This month, I did something that most people don’t usually do. I started taking profits on a large scale.
Not because I’m bearish on the market. But because I’ve begun to question the logic that holding longer always means making more. On top of that, my indicators, like Bollinger Bands and Golden Pits, were strongly signaling that it was time to exit.
There’s a bit of irony in the market. People think the hardest part is cutting losses, but it isn’t. The hardest part is taking profits.
When losing money, most people can grit their teeth and admit they’re wrong. But when they’re making money, that’s when judgment often slips.
They don’t want to sell. They always think there’s a little more to gain. And then profits slip back to breakeven, and sometimes even turn into losses.
Many people don’t fail because they can’t make money. They fail because they don’t take it when they can.
You start to notice a very real pattern. When a trade begins to feel completely risk-free, the risk is already built in.
Where the crowd gathers, it’s not just that the edge disappears. Sometimes it’s where sentiment itself is being harvested.
So my choice this time was simple. I took part of the profits and moved them into something more certain.
I might miss out on the rest of the move, but at least this portion is already mine.
In the end, trading isn’t about who’s more aggressive. It’s about who knows when to stop