Every trader has heard a saying and is repeatedly practicing it: don’t make small profits and don’t lose big money.

It sounds like just eight words, but in reality, very few traders can stick to this principle.

Let’s look at the most common scenario. You invest 20,000 in capital, and the market quickly surges to 21,000. You feel a surge of joy, decisively take profit, and lock in a 5% gain. That moment feels fantastic, and your account shows a profit. But then you turn around and see that the market hasn’t stopped; it continues to race up to 25,000. When you do the math, you realize you earned 5%, but watched 50% of potential profit slip through your fingers. That feeling—every trader has tasted it.

You start to reflect, repeatedly telling yourself—next time, hold on to the big move.

Time moves forward, and you enter again with 20,000. The market surges again to 21,000. This time, you grit your teeth and don’t move. You tell yourself to learn the lesson and trust your judgment. But what happens? The market doesn’t follow your script. It turns downward, falling back to 20,000, and even breaks below to 19,500. Your stop-loss gets triggered, and you’re forced to exit.

Now the question arises—should you take profits or not?

This question has困ed most traders for a lifetime. Wavering between taking early profits and waiting for big gains, their mindset is repeatedly pulled in different directions, and the mental torment is far worse than losing money.

Is there a way to have both? To profit from small moves and not miss out on big ones?

Honestly, that’s a false proposition.

The market never gives you such an opportunity. Trading is a multiple-choice question—you must choose one. Either frequently take profits but miss big opportunities, or wait for big moves but endure small fluctuations. There is no third way.

My personal preference is that, rather than earning tiny profits, I’d rather bet on those moves that can double. But, to be honest, I haven’t fully implemented this philosophy myself, and probably no one in the world can do it 100%.

Trading isn’t a switch between this or that; it’s a matter of proportions.

You can execute at 30%, 50%, 70%, and each level will produce completely different results. Over time, the differences become even more stark. What we can do is continuously hone ourselves, gradually increasing the proportion of times we follow these principles.

From this perspective, trading is essentially a long-term self-cultivation.

Whether you’re playing short-term swings or holding long-term positions, as long as you catch one or two real big moves, it’s enough to change your entire annual performance. Many people actually get ruined here—constantly oscillating between small profits and big moves, repeatedly making mistakes, and ultimately neither enjoying the sweet gains nor avoiding losses.