At three in the morning, I stared at the ceiling, my mind was filled with that number - 603742.

It's not the market, it's a debt.

Three years ago, on a deep night, when I saw my account balance hit zero, I almost smashed my phone against the wall. Liquidation, for the second time. My credit card limit was maxed out, and the collection messages from online loan platforms popped up one after another. I told my family that the money was invested in a startup project, but in reality, every penny was buried in those red and green candlestick charts.

The most absurd thing is, I was still thinking "The next wave will definitely bring me back to break even."

Until a friend in the circle told me: Brother, you didn't lose to market fluctuations, you lost to your own inability to stop.

That sentence hit me like a punch to the chest. I turned off all my trading software, stuffed my computer deep into the cabinet, and started delivering takeout. Yes, the kind of delivery person who runs orders on the street at dawn. I took odd jobs during the day and taught newcomers in the community at night how to avoid the pitfalls I had fallen into. Bit by bit, I paid off my debts, with no tricks—just endurance.

That year, I didn't touch any coins. But strangely, I felt more at ease inside.

I have relearned to go to bed early—not because of discipline, but because I am so exhausted that I fall asleep as soon as I hit the pillow. I started running, not for health, but to keep myself from constantly thinking about the market. When I have dinner with my family, I can finally put down my phone and listen to them carefully. For the first time, I realized that I can sleep soundly even on nights without the flickering of candlestick charts.

Now, the more than 600,000 have been paid off. Occasionally, I open the market and take a quick glance, nothing much happening. Some people ask me if I will re-enter the market, and I say: Yes, but not in a hurry. I will wait until I can play with "money I can afford to lose," rather than gamble with "money for survival."

What the cryptocurrency circle has taught me is not some bottom-fishing skills or K-line codes, but two words: control.

Control your desires - not every opportunity needs to be seized, and not every drop needs to be bought at the bottom.
Control your emotions - don't be ecstatic when it rises, and don't collapse when it falls.
Control your impulses - don't fantasize about turning the tables overnight; that kind of thinking will only lead to greater losses.

Before recovering the investment, learn to live well. Before making money, save back the self that is lost in the candlestick charts.

Don't rush to prove anything, first ask yourself: do you want to be a vegetable that gets cut for a lifetime, or do you want to be the one who laughs last?