The trade was losing. I whispered to myself: just widen the stop loss a little, and the price will come back. Then just a little more.

That’s not risk management. That’s hope disguised as a stop loss. Widening it once opens the door to doing it again—the small loss becomes a bigger one, then a loss I can no longer control.

Two rules I’ve stuck to ever since:

1) Set your stop loss before entering a trade, then leave it alone.

2) If the stop loss is hit, accept the loss. If you want to adjust your risk, do it on the next trade—not while you’re losing.

Write down entry · SL · TP before opening the chart so I don’t negotiate with a losing trade.

DYOR. Not financial advice.