The hardest part in the crypto world isn't catching the market trends, but managing your own hands.

Last month, I got liquidated. Two consecutive trades went wrong, and my account lost nearly $50,000. Seeing the remaining $9,000, I was completely stunned. Even considering opening a slightly larger position, I kept hesitating. Ironically, this forced caution actually helped me grow my account from $9,000 to $140,000 this month. There's nothing particularly clever about it; I finally realized: not messing around is the real key to making money.

**Losing so much that I began to reflect**

After the liquidation day, I spent two full days reviewing all my trading records. Going through them one by one, I finally saw the truth — I wasn't really trading; I was basically gambling.

Chasing gains and cutting losses became a habit. I felt I had to operate every minute, afraid of missing any fluctuation. When making money, I hurried to lock in profits; when losing, I refused to let go, even adding to my positions to average down. Small losses eventually turned into huge ones.

Another deadly flaw: as soon as I was confident in a direction, I would go all-in, leaving no room for adjustment. A single market reversal would completely crush my mindset.

**True transformation begins with self-awareness**

I suddenly realized one thing: I can't control the market, but I can control my actions.

The first change was position sizing. I set a strict rule — for each trade, never invest more than 10% of my total funds, regardless of how good the opportunity looks. This restriction forced me to select trades carefully instead of jumping into everything.

The second change was leverage. I used to think high leverage could quickly turn things around, but it usually just accelerated my explosion. Now, even when using leverage, I keep it within 3x at most, giving myself enough room for error.

**Small positions + steady mindset = big gains**

The most crucial change is actually in mindset. When your position size is small enough, a single loss can't shake your confidence. This allows me to analyze the market more calmly, without panicking over short-term fluctuations.

Another benefit is that I’ve extended my holding periods. I used to get itchy and take profits early. Now, I can hold onto good trades until the market clearly trends. This change in habit has multiplied my profits several times.

Risk management might sound dull, but it truly is the only way to consistently make money in crypto. Controlling your hands, controlling greed — that's more effective than any technical analysis.