Everyone has heard Buffett's famous saying: "Be fearful when others are greedy, be greedy when others are fearful."

It sounds simple, but actually executing it in trading is the hardest thing.

I have personally experienced countless moments of such inner conflict.
Sometimes, after making a profit on a trade, I start to get nervous, fearing that the hard-earned money might be lost again, so I hurriedly take profits to lock in gains.
And what happens? The market continues to move, and I see that I could have earned more.
Another time, I tell myself to hold on and let the profits run, but then the market turns, and the profits evaporate instantly.
At that moment, I start to regret and blame myself for being too greedy.

This feeling, I believe, is familiar to anyone trading stocks, futures, or forex.
When you buy at a relatively low point and the price rises to a good level, the market begins to adjust, and you’re caught in a dilemma: should you exit or hold?
Various voices flood in, and no one can give a clear answer.
If you exit and the price rises again, you regret it; if you don’t exit and the price drops further, you start blaming yourself for greed.

In fact, many retail traders fall into this vicious cycle—essentially, they become armchair strategists after the fact.
Even if given another chance, it’s very difficult to accurately judge when to be greedy and when to be fearful, because in the market, people’s mindsets are often tense, making rational judgment nearly impossible.
In trading, it’s either excessive greed or excessive fear—ultimately, a lot of pointless turmoil caused by poor psychological control.

I’ve found that unsuccessful traders usually display four typical behaviors.
The first is taking profits quickly after a small gain and closing positions immediately after a loss—driven by fear.
The second is adding to losing positions, unwilling to admit defeat even when in a loss, hoping for a reversal, which often results in even bigger losses.
The third is blindly following the trend—buying when prices rise and selling when prices fall, with no plan at all.
The fourth is heavy position sizing, putting all chips into one basket.

The first two are driven by fear; the latter two by greed.
Greed makes you chase after rising prices and panic-sell during declines.
Sometimes luck is on your side, and you make money, but more often, you end up suffering significant losses.

The real solution is actually very simple: establish a complete trading system.
This system should have clear entry and exit rules, aligned with the principle of "cut losses short and let profits run," and strict money management discipline.
As long as you strictly follow it, you can effectively overcome greed and fear.

Interestingly, human society has been evolving— from agricultural civilization to mechanical industry to the information age— material life has become richer, and technology advances rapidly, but one thing has never evolved: human nature.
However, individuals can evolve.
Professional traders succeed by continuously practicing and reflecting, overcoming the fears and greed within human nature, ultimately becoming market winners.
Most traders spend their lives battling their own psychological weaknesses.

Since human nature has remained unchanged for thousands of years, we can think in reverse.
By using analytical tools to understand the common mindset of investors in the market, and recognizing the rhythm of others’ greed and fear, we can better reduce our own risks.

Ultimately, investors must always respect the market, view market conditions rationally, and plan to overcome human weaknesses.
Within a familiar and controllable scope, continuously refine and improve their trading understanding.
This is the only way to survive long-term.