I think I've been putting a lot of pressure on myself to make my daily numbers, based on 2020 achievements. Since I didn't know better because I started trading in 2020, I sort of expected to do as well in 2021, despite warnings from friends who have been trading for years. My thinking was if I apply myself the same way, I should get the same results. Of course, when 2021 rolled and the market dipped, I had no methodology to work through it. I tried swing trading, only to find that I was way off the timing and took months to accept taking losses, which were as exciting as the wins. I learned that I have no patience for months or even weeks long trades. I learned that for me it's not about the money as much as figuring out how to enjoy the game. It's addictive and, for those prone to addictions, it's a monster to always stay on top of. I have been spending most of my time since the beginning of the year absorbing basic stock trading techniques (hello shorts...) and hope to squeeze a profit this year, provided the market holds. I'm not as methodical as some of you are, but I'm intuitive and try to frame intuition into method, if that makes any sense.
Exactly. And when that hobby returns a profit you'll be double happy. Having said that, you can still approach the hobby in a business fashion.
The one advantage of hitting a big win upfront or earlier on in your investing career is that it makes small returns more meaningful. Your daily needs are met easier (less performance required) if your capital is 8x your salary as long as your expenses (and tax bill) stay under control. I am personally a bad loser and follows buffet advice as closely as I can: never lose money.
I don't like losing money either, and the losses are commensurate with the wins in absolute value. But the worse feeling yet is when failing to capitalize on opportunities. I got caught in the AMC debacle and left with my pants down. The loss was such that I held on, hoping for anything better than what I was left with. Weeks later (an eternity really) the price hit 18 and I rushed to sell all at a much reduced loss, then watched over the next 5 months AMC hit 72. so not only am I left with a real loss in my books, but a huge hit to my ego. Luckily, it's written in my plan... thou shall never woulda, shoulda coulda.