Just now, I got itchy again and wanted to chase a position—my mouse was already over the confirm button. Then I paused and asked myself: is this position “what I know,” or “what I’m afraid of missing”? To put it plainly, most of the time it’s the latter. Lately, everyone’s been interpreting ETF fund flows, U.S. stock risk appetite, and crypto market ups and downs together, and I get pulled along with the momentum too. But when it actually comes time to place an order, the information value is often not as high as you’d expect—yet my emotions are full.

My current approach is pretty old-school: first, tighten the slippage protection a bit, look at the route a couple more times—if there’s a way to go privately, go privately; at least don’t be chasing the rally while getting sandwiched. Then give myself 10 minutes to cool off. If, after 10 minutes, I still want to buy, then go ahead. If I don’t, then I’ll take it as saving on fees. Forget it—no more talking. Go and pull my hand away from FOMO.