Many people enter the market to trade contracts, and the most common question at the beginning is: "Should I do short-term or long-term trading?" Actually, this question is asked the wrong way.

The key is not in choosing the cycle, but in whether you can hold onto the profits you make. Short-term trading requires a sense of rhythm—entering and exiting quickly; long-term trading tests your patience and ability to withstand pullbacks. But no matter which path you choose, if you make a 200% profit in one wave and then give it all back, it’s as if you never made any profit—that’s the most heartbreaking.

On the other hand, if you can preserve most of your profits and wait for the next opportunity to earn another 200%, your profits will quadruple. The difference lies in defensive awareness. In the market, there’s no such thing as "missing out" being the real loss; the true damage comes from giving back floating gains. Instead of obsessing over cycles every day, it’s better to focus on how to protect the money you’ve earned.

Many beginners, after tasting initial success, start dreaming, thinking that finding the right direction will make them rich overnight. Honestly, the entry barrier isn’t high; the real challenge is psychological. Contract trading has three hurdles, and missing any one of them is a problem:

First is patience in waiting. Can you resist the urge to open positions recklessly and wait for the highest probability, most certain opportunities? Or do you get FOMO at every market move? Second is the courage to let go. After making money, are you willing to give up some floating gains and resist the impulse to close positions immediately, letting profits run? Third is acceptance of mistakes. Before placing an order, can you truly let go of attachment to the principal, and think ahead about what to do if the worst-case scenario results in a 20% loss? After losing, can you still stick to your logic instead of being driven by emotions?

Ultimately, the hardest part is always the emotional barrier. Anxiety when missing out, impatience after making money, panic during losses—there are no shortcuts here. It can only be honed through repeated practical experience, using small, controlled losses to accumulate confidence and lessons.

Actually, clarifying this set of trading logic already puts you ahead of most people in the market who operate recklessly. Those who have been in the circle for many years often realize that the true key to making money isn’t predicting the market, but risk management.

Caution is the baseline, and mindset is the key. Those who can protect their profits and endure loneliness will go much further than those obsessing over short-term or long-term strategies every day. The market will always come, opportunities will not disappear—what matters is whether you are alive to seize them.