In the past A-share market, and in the recent years of the crypto market, there has been a widely circulated saying:

"Trading is against human nature."
But I believe that this statement is often wrong, even harmful.
What kind of people believe in this saying:
Buy-in immediately gets trapped,
Cutting losses causes prices to rise,
Chasing highs leads to a pullback,
Panicking causes a quick sell-off.
After failing many times, they can never find a stable profit path, and are unwilling to admit that they simply do not understand the market, so they can only find a phrase that sounds sophisticated to rationalize their behavior and results.
"It's not me who is wrong, it's human nature that is wrong."
This phrase sounds profound, but in many cases, it is just self-comfort for failures.
More importantly, in a market where most people are losing money, this narrative can easily resonate. Because failures need explanations, losers need comfort, and the confused need a philosophical reason.
Thus, "trading is against human nature" has transformed from a summary of experience into a form of collective hypnosis.
But if you look at the US stock market, or the early crypto markets, the mainstream belief is not "against human nature."
The long-term mainstream narrative of the US stock market is:
Buy and Hold.
The core belief of early Bitcoin and crypto markets was also:
All-in, HODL, ride through cycles.
This even gave rise to family wealth inheritance-style investing in US stocks, and the hodlers in the Bitcoin world.
Why?
Because the underlying structures of different markets are different.
The core foundation of the US stock market is built on the rule of law, property rights protection, market economy, technological innovation, and institutional stability—forming a long-term compound interest system.
This system has greatly unleashed entrepreneurial spirit, capital efficiency, and human creativity over the past decades.
Therefore, in this market, often aligning with human greed, optimism, and long-termism is actually the correct approach.
Not always fighting against human nature.
But the problem is, no system is a perpetual motion machine.
From cosmic evolution, to human societal development, to capital market operation, cycles are everywhere.
Institutions have cycles, industries have cycles, liquidity has cycles, risk appetite also has cycles.
Even in the US stock market, even Warren Buffett, the symbol of long-term investing, does not hold stocks blindly at all times.
He will sell when valuations are too high and risk-reward is unfavorable, and hoard cash waiting for new opportunities.
This is the cycle that mature investors truly need to understand.
So, trading is not simply about "going against human nature."
The real challenge in trading is:
Knowing when to follow human nature,
When to restrain human nature;
When to trust the trend,
When to beware of bubbles;
When to hold long-term,
When to decisively exit.
Novice traders blame losses on human nature.
Ordinary traders try to fight human nature.
Advanced traders understand human nature, leverage it, and ultimately follow the cycle.
The market is never there to punish human nature; what it truly punishes are those who replace thinking with slogans.