A trader's dilemma: It's harder to see oneself clearly than to see the market clearly.

Today’s Topic: The Loneliness of Trading and the Weight of Reality

Chan Theory teaches us to read the trend, the levels, and the divergences. But there’s one problem—it won’t tell you the answer directly: can you bear it?

Many traders think their predicament is because they lack skills, because they can’t find that perfect buy and sell point. But once you’ve been at it long enough, you realize the real predicament is standing between profit and loss—watching the numbers in your account move, and wrestling with all kinds of inner struggles:

The gap between knowing and doing is the farthest gap.

You know you should cut this position; your fingers just won’t move. You know you shouldn’t chase after highs; but when you watch the price surge, your mindset falls apart. You know you should wait for signals; but the agony of holding no position is even harder to endure than taking a loss.

Chan Theory says “the trend is always ultimately perfect,” but your account may not be able to hold out until that “perfect day.”

Chan Theory Perspective: Your Trading Level Is Your Personality

Why do some people get addicted to short-term trading, while others can only sleep well with medium- to long-term positions? This isn’t a choice of technique—it’s a matter of personality.

Chan Theory talks about “levels.” Many people only understand it as time cycles. In fact, a level corresponds to the scale of fluctuation you can tolerate.

• If you trade at a one-minute level, you have to repeatedly spar through minute-to-minute ups and downs—the psychological pressure accumulates at high frequency.
• If you trade at a daily level, you have to endure long periods of uncertainty in direction—the torment gets stretched across days, weeks, and months.

Choosing the wrong level, in essence, means choosing a battlefield you can’t handle.

Many people lose money not because they misread the analysis, but because they put themselves into a battlefield they shouldn’t have entered. Using daily-level patience for minute-level trading will blow up. Using minute-level sensitivity for daily-level trading will collapse.

Recognizing your personality is more important than recognizing market structure.

Practical Reflections: Three Realistic Dilemmas for Traders

Dilemma 1: The pain of cutting a loss isn’t about losing money—it’s about admitting “I was wrong”

Many people don’t cut their losses not because they don’t trust the technique, but because cutting a loss means admitting a mistake—meaning self-denial.

This is a psychological trap. Trading isn’t an exam; getting a question wrong doesn’t mean you’re the wrong person.

In Chan Theory, trends have “polysemy”—the same structure can be interpreted in different ways. The buy/sell point you see right now might just be a fluctuation within a larger level. If you’re wrong, just admit it, and change direction. This isn’t failure; it’s adaptation.

But in reality, many people equate “admitting you’re wrong” with “I’m a failed trader.”

Solution: Treat a stop loss as a cost, not a failure. Every business has costs—cutting losses is the tuition you pay for that piece of trend information.

Dilemma 2: The anxiety of missing out is more tormenting than a loss

Many people can accept losses, but can’t stand missing out.

Watching the market take off while you’re not on the train feels like losing money—that kind of pain is unbearable. So next time they see an opportunity, they can’t help but chase, and they chase right into the top.

This is classic “fear of missing out” (FOMO).

Chan Theory’s solution is very calm: miss one buy point, wait for the next level. If you miss the one-minute, wait for the five-minute; if you miss the five-minute, wait for the thirty-minute. Trends won’t be only one wave—levels grow, and opportunities continue.

But can your mindset wait?

Many people aren’t unable to find opportunities—they’re unable to wait for opportunities. They’d rather be wrong than miss out. That’s the real dilemma.

Solution: Admit that you can’t capture all opportunities. The market is always there, and opportunities are always there too.

Dilemma 3: Distortion under real-world pressure

The hardest dilemma isn’t a mindset problem—it’s a real-world problem.

When many people enter the market, they come with the expectation of “I want to make money,” but deeper down, what they feel is the anxiety of “I need money.”

• Mortgage payments, car loans, family expenses
• Business failure, an unhappy job situation
• Watching others make money while you’re急 to turn things around

Entering with a “must win” mindset means you’ve already lost half the battle.

Chan Theory talks about “not worrying” in terms of mental non-attachment—but reality makes you swing between gains and losses, making you worry. At this point, even the slightest fluctuation will be amplified into anxiety.

Solution: Don’t trade with money that you urgently need. This is the bottom line. If you can’t do it, stop first. The market won’t give you opportunities just because you’re in a hurry.

Market News

1. Draft Amendment to the E-Commerce Law Solicits Public Comments; the Platform Economy Regulatory System Further Improved

On July 5, the State Administration for Market Regulation and the Ministry of Commerce publicly solicited opinions from the public on the “E-Commerce Law of the People’s Republic of China (Draft Amendment for Comments).” The draft clarifies the rights and obligations of other participants in the platform economy, strengthens the principle of consistent management of online and offline business under the same regulatory purview, and enhances integrated regulation through coordination among departments and cooperation between the central government and localities.

2. UBS Significantly Raises Its Forecast for Memory Chip Prices; Supply-Demand Imbalance May Persist Until 2028

UBS recently released a report, forecasting that DDR contract prices will rise 32% quarter over quarter in the third quarter and 18% quarter over quarter in the fourth quarter. The report notes that the tight supply-demand situation in the DRAM industry will persist for at least until the first half of 2028. The actual supply-demand shortfall in 2027 may expand to -13.6%, reaching a degree of imbalance at a level rare in the past 30 years.

3. Extreme Heat Persists Across Europe; China’s Exports of Cooling Home Appliances Surge

Multiple European countries have continued to experience extreme heat. China’s shipments of cooling appliances such as portable air conditioners and mobile air conditioners to Europe have grown manifold. Manufacturers including Gree Electric and TCL have confirmed that some channel products are already sold out and are accelerating replenishment. Abnormal climate conditions are becoming a new variable affecting global industrial chains.

Cultivating the Mind Through Reflection: Trading Practice Is Making Peace with Yourself

After trading for a long time, you come to a truth:

Your biggest opponent has never been the market—it has always been yourself.

• Your greed makes you chase highs.
• Your fear makes you cut losses at the bottom.
• Your obsession makes you refuse to let go of losses.
• Your anxiety makes you rush in moments when you should wait.

Chan Theory gives you tools—your “eyes” for reading trends. But the person using those eyes is your heart.

If your heart isn’t right, your eyes will be skewed.

So in the end, trading isn’t a contest of techniques—it’s a contest of practice. Whoever can stay more calm, more objective, and less attached will go farther.

This isn’t asking you to become a machine. It’s normal for people to have emotions. But learn gradually:

• Accept your own imperfections
• Accept the regret of missed opportunities
• Accept that stop loss is a cost, not a failure
• Accept that there are times when you can’t bear it

When you can make peace with yourself, the market is no longer your enemy—it’s simply the object you observe and respond to.

Zen Without Measurement · Chan Proves Zen