“You can’t lose if you never sell” uhh YEAH AND YOU CAN’T PROFIT EITHER! ๐ oooo boiiee I’ve been wanting to post my thoughts about this terrible saying for a LONG TIME. I think a bear market is the perfect time to speak on it ๐
“It’s not a loss if you don’t sell” – one of the most annoying and toxic sayings uttered by traders who have no idea wtf they are doing in the markets. Let’s dive into why I never wanna hear people say this around me ๐
“It’s not a loss…” is complete nonsense and is evidence someone has not educated themselves on risk management, stop losses, letting winners run, cutting losers short, or strategic trade management. HOLDING ONTO A LOSS FOR ALL OF ETERNITY IS NOT A VALID PLAN. IT’S NOT SUSTAINABLE. If you’re losing bad… it’s a loss. Selling later *usually* results in an even bigger loss ๐ (not always obv). This statement is a form of self-soothing for idiots and it plays no part in my trading.
“… if you don’t sell!” is typically spoken when someone holds onto a losing trade for too long.๐ Of course, not every single trade we take will unfold like we planned for, but looking in the mirror and telling yourself “This is fine. This is acceptable.” and not getting down to the root of the problem to fix it is how majority of traders lose money in 90 days and quit in 2 years. You don’t just write off ๐ฉ trading and trade management by telling yourself “if I hold on a little longer, it’ll fix itself!” ๐คก
It IS a loss if you don’t sell when you had the chance earlier
โ If your trade was in profit, but you didn’t exit and you let it turn around and turn into a loss… it’s a loss
โ If your trade started turning around as soon as you got in and has been in the red for months… it’s a loss.
โ If your trade idea and thesis has been invalidated and you keep holding on, fighting the market because you “know” you’re right… it’s a loss
โ If your analysis has been proven wrong by the market and you didn’t set a stop loss and exit your trade when it hit the stop loss and are now holding onto a heavy bag with blind faith that it’ll reverse into the green… IT’S A LOSS HOMESLICE.
Moral of story? Cut your losses short. ๐ฅ