What exactly is trading? Most people might not be able to explain it clearly. Today is the weekend, and in order to reduce the cost of explaining such questions in the future, I will explain this matter thoroughly based on my subjective understanding and experience. After reading this, ask yourself whether you are suitable for trading.

Most people start trading with the intention of making easy money. They see others achieving success in a short time, while those who work hard for years in reality struggle to earn the same amount. As a result, they also want to escape their monotonous, ordinary lives and start playing the game with their own funds, believing that by watching the market for a few hours each day, they can secure their basic needs and even live well. On the surface, this seems like an ideal job: no need for a team, no reliance on connections, and no oversight from leaders, seemingly achievable solely through personal effort. However, the reality is that the number of people who can make a living from trading is far fewer than you might think. Moreover, if you are in the retail trading circle, it becomes even harder to connect with such individuals because everyone's frequency is not in the same world. Just like in real life, you mostly interact with people who earn similarly to you if your monthly salary is in the thousands, while those earning hundreds of thousands or millions are in a different circle, as everyone's mindset is not on the same channel. This matter doesn't need much explanation; as adults, those who understand do, and those who don't need not try to understand!
Many people underestimate the difficulty of trading and overestimate their own preparation. Trading is not something that can guarantee stable profits just by learning a few technical indicators and reading a few books. If you are truly passionate about trading and have the impulse to change yourself through it, wanting to make a living directly from trading, then take a look at the following things and see if you can endure them before making your considerations.

When you have floating profits in your account, do you impulsively increase your position? Do you become greedy and reluctant to exit? After several consecutive losses, can you keep your hands steady and avoid revenge trading? If you feel anxious every time you place an order, and let daily profits and losses dictate your actions, then you are not yet ready to trade.
Over the years, I have met many friends who are full of confidence after making short-term profits, but once their accounts start to retract, their emotions collapse. They watch the market anxiously during the day and can’t stop thinking about their positions at night. When a stop-loss occurs, they begin to doubt their strategy, unwilling to accept defeat and stubbornly holding on. Even when they correctly predict the market, they are afraid to open a position. Opportunities are missed in hesitation, and they end up not making any money, which leads to self-doubt. In fact, this is a sign that your ability to handle pressure hasn't kept up. The true challenge of trading is not the market, not the strategy, not the entry points, but rather your own attitude towards gains and losses. If you still cannot achieve emotional stability and are swayed by profits and losses, then this job in trading will only continue to drain you.
Trading is by no means a get-rich-quick scheme. This may be the harshest, yet most honest, truth in the world of trading.
Many people start trading thinking it is a quick business. They believe they can learn the skills in three months, trade in the real market for half a year, and achieve stable profits within a year, even making a living from trading. But I can responsibly say that for most people, being able to avoid losing money within about a year is already a high level of understanding. If you want to make money and rely on it for a living, you must at least endure a phase of investment where you cannot see results.
You need to accumulate over a long period, keep experimenting and making mistakes, and even pay a lot of tuition before you can slowly grasp the ways of it, but most people cannot endure this stage.
Many people were enthusiastic a few months ago, making trading plans, reviewing trades, and diligently recording their transactions. However, a year later, very few of them can still persist. They found that despite their efforts, they were still losing; even after adjusting their strategies, they remained unstable. This kind of persistence without visible returns is actually more tormenting than losing money.

You need to ask yourself a question: If you don't make a profit from trading for a year, will you continue?
If the answer is very difficult, then don't rush to take up trading as a livelihood. The pressures of real life, especially if you want to rely on it to support yourself, are not just technical and psychological issues; you also have to face the challenges of life itself. The most practical question is: do you have a stable income? It is very difficult to achieve consistent profits in the early stages of trading. If you do not have other sources of income, every trade will be burdened with the pressure to make money.

What you want to do is make an objective judgment, but what you're thinking is: the mortgage hasn't been paid this month, the children's education expenses, the wife's expenditures, etc., so this trade absolutely cannot lose today. When life and trading are intertwined, trading is no longer pure. Therefore, many people do not fail in the market, but fail outside the market: the lack of understanding from family, doubts from friends, economic pressure, psychological fatigue... This is not a problem that can be solved by technology, but rather a problem of life support not keeping up.

The path of trading is not something that can be traversed solely by intelligence, luck, or a couple of techniques. It resembles a form of cultivation, where one fights against their own greed, fear, impatience, and anxiety. Those who can persevere until the end may not necessarily be the best at reading the market, but they will definitely be those who have stable emotions, can endure solitude, and withstand the tests of life.
I understand the thoughts of everyone who wants to make a living through trading. I have also had that urge to break free from constraints and take control of my life. But please be more pragmatic and give yourself more time and space to prepare. The word freedom is never cheap. The above content is also a summary after reading many excellent articles, expressed in my own words. I wish everyone on this trading journey less disaster, less difficulty, and congratulations on your wealth!