That day was Monday. Around 3 p.m., Minh texted me:
“Lately, I don’t want to open an account anymore.”
I thought he was losing money. But he said:
“On the contrary. For the past few months, I’ve been making quite a lot.”
His account grew from 300,000 USD to nearly 600,000 USD. You would think he’d be happy, but instead he became increasingly afraid to look at that number.
Every morning when he woke up, the first thing he did was check his account. If it went up, he felt good all day; if it went down, his mood dropped. There was even a time when, in just one day, he lost 40,000 USD. By midnight, he was still sitting in front of his computer, constantly pressing F5 to check the balance.
He told me:
“That’s when I realized: I’m not the one controlling the trading—it's the number in the account that controls my emotions.”
The next day, he withdrew part of the profits, and the rest he kept trading according to plan.
A few months later, he said:
“Before, when I earned 10,000 USD, I was excited. Now, when I earn 10,000 USD, I only think: the plan is on the right track.”
That was a huge change.
When you’re still ruled by money, when the account goes up you feel happy, and when it goes down you feel afraid. When you become more mature in trading, you’ll understand: money should serve your life, not control it.
The ultimate goal isn’t to keep looking at bigger and bigger balances, but that one day those numbers no longer decide your mood.
“Lately, I don’t want to open an account anymore.”
I thought he was losing money. But he said:
“On the contrary. For the past few months, I’ve been making quite a lot.”
His account grew from 300,000 USD to nearly 600,000 USD. You would think he’d be happy, but instead he became increasingly afraid to look at that number.
Every morning when he woke up, the first thing he did was check his account. If it went up, he felt good all day; if it went down, his mood dropped. There was even a time when, in just one day, he lost 40,000 USD. By midnight, he was still sitting in front of his computer, constantly pressing F5 to check the balance.
He told me:
“That’s when I realized: I’m not the one controlling the trading—it's the number in the account that controls my emotions.”
The next day, he withdrew part of the profits, and the rest he kept trading according to plan.
A few months later, he said:
“Before, when I earned 10,000 USD, I was excited. Now, when I earn 10,000 USD, I only think: the plan is on the right track.”
That was a huge change.
When you’re still ruled by money, when the account goes up you feel happy, and when it goes down you feel afraid. When you become more mature in trading, you’ll understand: money should serve your life, not control it.
The ultimate goal isn’t to keep looking at bigger and bigger balances, but that one day those numbers no longer decide your mood.
