To The Moon

Investing and trading has always been more than just a way to grow my money—it’s a hobby, a challenge, and, in many ways, a mirror reflecting how I handle life. Sure, wins feel amazing. But it’s the lessons I’ve learned along the way—the missteps, the surprises, and the moments of clarity that have stayed with me the most.

Lesson 1: Don’t Be Overconfident

I remember the first time I really believed I had it all figured out: TLT. I was convinced the price was too low to ignore. “If the Fed lowers interest rates, this will skyrocket,” I told myself. I bought in, thinking patience was all I needed. TLT is still my largest holding today, and I’m confident in its potential but I’ve learned patience has limits. The price didn’t move as fast as I expected, and many days I’d watch it linger below my hopes, silently testing my resolve.

iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT)

That experience taught me something about life beyond investing: confidence is powerful, but overconfidence can blind us. Just because I believe something will happen doesn’t mean it will and learning to wait, without frustration, is a skill in itself.

Lesson 2: Control Impulsiveness

There were other times I didn’t wait. I chased trends, made purchases out of fear of missing out, and ended up “bagholding” shares I never intended to keep. I remember staring at my portfolio, watching unrealised losses pile up, wishing I’d paused just once to think before acting.

Since then, I’ve learned the value of self-control. In investing, patience prevents mistakes. In life, it prevents regrets. Pausing, thinking, and making deliberate choices rather than reacting impulsively has become a habit I now carry into everything I do.

Lesson 3: Think for Yourself

When I first started trading, I often acted on tips, predictions, or analysts’ forecasts that sounded convincing at the time. I bought shares thinking, “This expert must know something I don’t.” More often than not, I ended up disappointed. Over time, I realized that relying too heavily on others’ opinions didn’t protect me from mistakes—it just made me regret my choices more.

I began doing my own research, trusting my own judgment, and making decisions that felt right to me. Was I always correct? No. But I felt a sense of ownership and clarity that advice alone could never give me. That lesson—trust yourself—applies far beyond investing.

Lesson 4: Focus on the Positive

I’ll admit, there are investments I still hold that didn’t go the way I expected. But instead of stewing on my mistake, I pivot my thinking. I focus on dividends, on long-term potential, on what’s still working rather than what isn’t.

It’s a mindset shift I now use in life: even mistakes or setbacks contain value. Learning to pivot my focus from regret to opportunity can transform frustration into motivation.

Lesson 5: Accept Unrealised Losses as Part of the Process

I’ve felt the sting of unrealised losses—sometimes small, sometimes big. At first, they hit hard. But over time, I learned that unrealised losses aren’t failures—they’re lessons. Every wrong decision, every dip in value, taught me something new about patience, strategy, and myself. Life, like investing, is full of setbacks, and learning to accept them with grace has made me stronger.

Lesson 6: Emotional Control Is Everything

I’ve experienced panic when prices drop and euphoria when they rise. Learning to manage these emotions has been invaluable. It’s taught me that staying calm, observing carefully, and not reacting to every fluctuation isn’t just a trading strategy—it’s a life skill.

Lesson 7: Continuous Learning Is Essential

Markets evolve, strategies shift, and the unexpected happens every day. Investing taught me to stay curious, keep learning, and adapt. That habit has spilled into everything I do: trying new skills, embracing challenges, and always being open to growth.

Lesson 8: Diversification Is a Safety Net

Finally, I’ve learned that putting all my eggs in one basket is risky. In investing, diversification protects against uncertainty. In life, spreading my energy across relationships, skills, and experiences makes me stronger and more resilient.

Investing has been more than a financial journey—it’s been a mirror showing me who I am, how I react, and how I grow. The market fluctuates, but the lessons stay with me: patience, self-awareness, resilience, and adaptability. And these lessons? They’re worth far more than any profit on paper.