Disciplined Investing
It isn't about willpower. Its about having a plan.
When I first began investing in this space, all I was concerned about was whether I was "right" or not.
This led to me making undisciplined choices like:
1. Exiting as soon as my position started taking losses
2. Exiting a position and placing the principal from that investment in another project that seemed like it offered a higher upside than what I was getting previously.
Example
I'd invest in "crypto A" and maybe be up 5% in that position after 3-4 days. But then I'd see "crypto B" was surging and up 10% in one day alone.
So I'd sell my entire position (exit) in "crypto A" to go run & invest in "crypto B". Sure enough, it seemed like everytime I'd pull the trigger on that decision, "crypto B" would start losing value and I'd actually end up incurring losses on that position. At the same time, "crypto A" where I just left would go on an unexpected run right after I sold that position.
This process was maddening.
But since I had no plan, I would say to myself, "Ok James, you learned your lesson. Don't go chasing green candles like everybody says. Just stay in one position and 'HODL'. That's the key."
That didn't fix things because that just led to me getting stuck in positions that were in loss that were never going to recover.
So that triggered another dilemma for me where I had to ask myself, "Ok, when is it smart to 'HODL' and when should I actually sell?"
It isn't about willpower. Its about having a plan.
When I first began investing in this space, all I was concerned about was whether I was "right" or not.
This led to me making undisciplined choices like:
1. Exiting as soon as my position started taking losses
2. Exiting a position and placing the principal from that investment in another project that seemed like it offered a higher upside than what I was getting previously.
Example
I'd invest in "crypto A" and maybe be up 5% in that position after 3-4 days. But then I'd see "crypto B" was surging and up 10% in one day alone.
So I'd sell my entire position (exit) in "crypto A" to go run & invest in "crypto B". Sure enough, it seemed like everytime I'd pull the trigger on that decision, "crypto B" would start losing value and I'd actually end up incurring losses on that position. At the same time, "crypto A" where I just left would go on an unexpected run right after I sold that position.
This process was maddening.
But since I had no plan, I would say to myself, "Ok James, you learned your lesson. Don't go chasing green candles like everybody says. Just stay in one position and 'HODL'. That's the key."
That didn't fix things because that just led to me getting stuck in positions that were in loss that were never going to recover.
So that triggered another dilemma for me where I had to ask myself, "Ok, when is it smart to 'HODL' and when should I actually sell?"