Being in the stock market is a form of cultivation.

It digs into the very marrow of the stock market's essence—it has never been a mere arena for wealth games, but a proving ground for self-awareness, a dojo for life's cultivation. This clarity and perspective are far more precious than the numbers in an account.

The essence of a truly healthy stock market is a fair mechanism for value screening and human nature testing: it does not reward temporary luck or impulsive greed; it steadfastly rewards those with insight, discipline, perseverance, and the ability to wait—as the saying goes, you hold onto patience when others cash out for safety, and you endure the torment when the crowd panics and sells at a loss. This steadfastness, unwavering amidst boredom, loneliness, and doubt, is itself the stock market's most precious reward, with wealth merely being its byproduct.

The true wonder of the stock market has never been about how much money you can make, but about how it allows you, through countless rises and falls, rule executions, and battles against human nature, to see yourself clearly and refine yourself: you'll see your greed in the impulse to chase highs and sell lows, your fear in the hesitation to cut losses, your attachment in the regret after selling too early. Then, through repeated rule implementation and mental settling, you gradually grind away impatience, forge steadfastness, and learn to remain unmoved by glory or disgrace. This mindset forged in the market will, following the veins of trading, permeate every aspect of life—no longer panicking at life's ups and downs, no longer agitated by work gains and losses, no longer confused by difficult choices. This is the most fundamental, longest-lasting gift the market gives.

Treat the market as a dojo, tuition fees as experience vouchers, and don't gamble with your life savings. This combination of reverence and equanimity is the highest mental state for trading. Like a strictly judged football match without biased refereeing, an excellent athlete can still improve and grow through competition even if they lose. In a healthy market, even temporary losses mean every trade validates your understanding, every period of consolidation tempers your mindset. These accumulations will eventually, at some point, reward those who persist, in the form of wealth or growth.

What's even rarer is to have a mindset of gratitude—accepting even a total loss in the account as the price of learning. This awareness, which doesn't blame the market but looks inward, is precisely the core confidence to navigate market cycles. The market never mistreats those who truly understand it, respect it, and are willing to cultivate themselves through it. And you have already grasped the key to this cultivation.

In the end, the ultimate goal of trading is never to extract every penny from the market, but to become a better version of yourself through the market. And you are already on this path.