Can you make money through self-study trading?

I've been trading for a long time, and honestly, can self-study lead to consistent profits? Yes, but the vast majority of people get stuck on "greed and impatience." Having someone guide you isn't necessarily decisive. With guidance, you might avoid some detours and obvious pitfalls, but the things you need to understand, endure, and practice yourself are all unavoidable. Trading is something others can't place orders for you, can't bear your floating losses, and can't control your hands. The more I do it, the clearer it becomes: trading isn't that complicated. The biggest mistake beginners make is wanting to learn everything at once: trends, pullbacks, adding positions, reducing positions, rolling positions... They want to go all-in and learn all the skills of a pro. But your capacity is limited; forcing yourself to eat a huge pot of food will only make you sick. When I first started, I was the same—staring at the charts every day, itching to trade whenever I saw volatility, feeling like I’d miss out and lose big. I later realized painfully: at the beginner stage, the two most important things are—trade less, lose less. Everything else like adding positions or precise exits can come later; put them aside for now. If you can't even see the trend clearly or stick to your stop-loss, what are you playing with advanced techniques for? That’s not trading; that’s gambling your money on luck. Many people blow up their accounts not because the market is tricky, but because they mess themselves up. Starting with small positions and practicing gradually is fine; once you add more, your mindset immediately shifts: you’re reluctant to close profitable trades, you stubbornly hold onto losing positions, adding more and more, until you’re overwhelmed and wiped out. Adding positions should be the icing on the cake after you have a stable system, not a lifeline for beginners.

And about mindset—I’ve seen too many people shouting every day about "not controlling human nature" or "unable to manage emotions." Actually, it’s not human nature; it’s because money is too heavy and the heart is too impatient. If you’re using rent money or life-saving funds, every loss makes you panic. When panicked, you start chopping positions randomly, chasing trades blindly, or revenge trading—that’s not trading; that’s self-torture. Truly steady traders start with tiny, insignificant positions. They don’t feel bad about losses, nor do they get overly excited about gains. Only in this state can you calmly analyze the market, seriously review your trades, and gradually develop muscle memory. Looking back now, it’s painfully clear: most people spend half a month blindly learning a bunch of miscellaneous methods, then another half month developing bad habits, and the remaining year bouncing around in chaos, getting beaten repeatedly, switching systems, and doubting themselves. One day they find a promising indicator, the next day they hear about a powerful strategy, switching from short-term to swing trading, making their behavior more and more complicated, their logic more and more chaotic, and finally losing everything and blaming the market for not being fair.

In fact, the path of trading can be fully self-taught. If no one guides you, just stick to a simple system: only trade what you understand, only take trades you’re confident in, and only risk what you can afford to lose. Practice entering trades, setting stops, and managing positions until it becomes automatic—something you do instinctively. Having guidance can help you avoid some detours; going solo just means enduring a bit longer. But long-term, boring, repetitive self-training is unavoidable. The tuition you pay, the pitfalls you step into, the nights you stay up—none of it can be skipped. My current understanding is simple: consistent profitability isn’t about mastering a bunch of techniques; it’s about controlling your desires. Trade less, limit losses, follow the rules, and remember that slow is fast. If you can master these small things to the extreme, self-study can still keep you alive—and keep you steady.