Many people enter this market, initially treating it as a casino. I was no exception.

In those years, I was like possessed, staying up late watching the K-line without letting go, panicking when prices fell, getting excited when prices rose, completely driven by short-term emotional fluctuations. My account was repeatedly reshuffled through ups and downs, and anxiety became my normal state. Until one day, I suddenly realized—if I continued like this, I would eventually be swallowed by the market.

From that moment on, I decided to change my fundamental attitude: no longer treat crypto trading as gambling, but as a disciplined job. This shift may seem simple, but it actually changed my entire performance in the market.

**Treat Time Management as the First Principle**

The most disorienting thing in the market is information overload. You think that watching the charts more will help you catch more opportunities, but in reality, it just confuses you with all kinds of voices. I used to be like that—watching the charts for over ten hours a day, only to end up losing the most.

Later, I set a rule for myself: look at the market only twice a day, once in the morning and once at night, each session no longer than 30 minutes. The rest of the time is for daily work, exercise, and rest—bringing my life back to a normal rhythm.

Interestingly, when you put down your phone, your judgment becomes clearer. Information needs to settle, trends need to emerge, and taking action at this point is often more composed. "A day in the crypto world is like a year in the human world"—this phrase not only illustrates how fast the market moves but also reminds us—if we follow the market without limits, we will end up exhausted.

**Floating Profits Are Not Real Profits**

Numbers in your account can be deceiving, but only the part you have secured in your pocket is truly yours. I’ve seen too many people with floating gains of dozens of percentage points, only to lose everything because of greed and not taking profits in time. A market correction can wipe out all hopes.

The money you earn needs to be actively protected. This means learning to take partial profits at appropriate levels, rather than expecting prices to keep rising forever. Most people’s problem is: their imagination is never enough, always thinking there’s another wave of rise. This mindset might be forgivable in an uptrend occasionally, but at high levels, it becomes a suicidal move.

My approach is: once I get good profits, I reduce my position in stages according to plan. Sell 20% of the profits to lock in cash, then sell another 40%, and only then can I relax my mindset. Sounds conservative? But this conservatism greatly reduces my account volatility and improves my sleep quality.

**Trading Discipline Is a Thousand Times More Important Than Inspiration**

The biggest scam in this market is that some people believe they can get rich through intuition. I don’t deny that such people exist, but the probability is so low it can be ignored. Most profitable traders rely on tested systems, clear risk management standards, and strict adherence to their plans.

It’s crucial to establish your own trading principles. How large is your position? When do you enter? When do you exit? How much loss triggers a stop-loss? All these should be decided rationally beforehand and then executed decisively when the market goes crazy—don’t listen to rumors, don’t read comments, don’t be swayed by FOMO.

My experience is: a clear plan combined with strict discipline will help you survive longer in this market. When conditions don’t support executing your plan, resting is often the best choice—more profitable than reckless trading.

The process from gambler to trader isn’t complicated, but it requires a true change in mindset. Treat the crypto market as a job, not as a playground. Only then can you gradually establish your own way of survival in this ever-changing, unpredictable market.