My biggest practice during this time is just one plain-language sentence: don’t let a single thought push you to open a position to the point of “it has to be right.” If you can’t hold spot, it’s usually because once your position gets big, you start staring at the candlestick chart—when it ticks up you want to lock it in, and when it ticks down you want to run. With futures, it’s even more direct: once leverage kicks in, volatility becomes an emotion-amplifier. In the end, it’s not your stop-loss—it’s the market that “forces a stop-loss for you.”

Now here’s the down-to-earth method I set for myself: I’ll treat the portion I can sleep well—without losing sleep—as spot, so even if it drops, it won’t affect my ability to eat. If I want the thrill, I’ll use a very small amount to trade futures; once it’s gone, I’ll treat it as paying tuition—don’t add more out of revenge. Recently, that whole thing about pledging/sharing “safety” got blasted as “doll stacking,” and I can really empathize… Chasing “returns on top of returns” sounds tempting, but complexity stacks on complexity, and in the end, the risk stacks up and hits you in the face. Either way, keep surviving as the main line first—practice slowly, and don’t rush to prove yourself.