When it comes to the realm of trading, many people might think of Ding Yuanying from "The Way of Heaven," who seems to have a god's perspective, looking down upon all beings, with extremely accurate predictions of what is about to happen and judgments of the situation. It feels as if one must reach this level to attain the highest state of trading.

However, after years of trading and interacting with countless traders, I've realized that myths may only exist in our TV dramas or media reports. I haven't encountered such a legendary figure in person; most of us are just ordinary people.

Many people, after living half their lives, may feel regretful, helpless, and melancholic, wondering why they aren't the chosen one. But there's no need for that. After all, there are only a few gods in this world, and for us ordinary people, we can also have our unique realms.

In my opinion, the highest state in my trading is when I have figured out two things:

1. I know what I can do well.

2. I do what I can do well.

1. I know what I can do well.

In the early days of trading, my ambitions were sky-high. I believed I had a talent for trading, with an exceptional sense of the market, and that I could only make profits no matter what I did, almost wanting to amass all the wealth in the market.

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Later, after suffering losses, I gradually realized the limitations of my abilities. For instance, there are always a few situations in trading:

I found that as long as I trade with a light position, I can handle the transactions effortlessly, with a very stable mindset. I enter the market decisively, cut losses firmly, and hold positions patiently, which allows me to make profits. But as soon as the position becomes heavy, trading starts to go awry. Every order is executed with trepidation, and before I know it, I've lost money in a muddled manner.There is another scenario where, as long as it is a trading signal one is particularly good at, having done it many times and made money each time, one will be very confident during trading and able to perform well every time. However, when encountering ambiguous trading opportunities, even if one takes them on, it is with trepidation, and even if done correctly, one cannot hold on to the gains, resulting in poor performance every time.

There are many similar situations, which represent the limitations we face in trading. Each of us has our own limitations, such as how much money we have, how much risk we can bear, how strong our trading abilities are, and how strong our psychological resilience is, all have certain upper limits. This requires us to have a very clear understanding of ourselves, to know what we can do, to what extent we can do it, what we can do well, and what we simply cannot do well.

It's like taking the college entrance examination; we know we are of average talent, yet we stubbornly aim for Tsinghua or Peking University. Later, we find that no matter how hard we work or how many times we retake the exam, we cannot get into Tsinghua or Peking University.

If we had a clear understanding of ourselves earlier and were not so ambitious, could we strive for the best results within our capabilities?

Indeed, acknowledging one's mediocrity and limitations is a difficult process. It took me many years to face my true self, but it is precisely this return to simplicity that allowed me to let go of unrealistic dreams of getting rich quickly and start learning to trade down-to-earth, which marked the beginning of my profitability.

2. I focus on doing well what I can do well.

Since confronting my limitations, I have put all my energy into everything I can do well. Let me give an example from my experience in the stock market.

After 2015, it has been truly challenging to make money in the stock market, with many people incurring losses over the long term. Even if you can make a 20% profit in the stock market in one year, you can surpass more than 90% of other investors, as most people are losing money.

But is it really that difficult to make money in the stock market? If one does not blindly pursue extremely high returns and only takes opportunities that one understands, making money is not as difficult as it seems.The chart shows the monthly line chart of CITIC Securities, with the Shanghai Composite Index (the blue K-line at the bottom of the chart) overlaid on it.

It can be observed that since the bull market in 2015 turned into a bear market, the Shanghai Composite Index has been fluctuating around 3,000 points. Each time the index falls below 3,000 points, it presents an opportunity to buy CITIC Securities. There have been six such buying opportunities on the chart, and each time, a profit of about 30% could be achieved, totaling 180% over six times.

From 2015 to the present, over a span of 8 years, the average annualized return is 22.5%. If compound interest were applied to each transaction, the six trades would yield a profit of 480%, averaging 60% per year.

However, the fundamental logic of this trading strategy is very simple: buy low and sell high. There is no complex technical analysis involved; it simply requires patience to wait for six trading opportunities over eight years. When each opportunity arises, one must act decisively, demanding sufficient patience and confidence.

Many people might think that this trading operation does not yield much profit and is too simple to have any technical content. But how many people can actually earn such profits over eight years?

Therefore, in our daily lives, if we can be knowledgeable, learn something, gain something, and be content with what we have, it is already a very high state of being. Let us all strive for this together.