After two years of fighting, I found that the same type of people lose money in the crypto world.

Author: rektdiomedes

Translation: Deep Tide TechFlow

Over the past two years, I have become obsessed with combat sports.

This basically includes a lot of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ), Muay Thai, and mixed martial arts (MMA) striking and wrestling courses.

Although two years is not a long time, and I am still a complete beginner, it has been enough to train with hundreds of different partners and observe how they handle various situations during training.

In addition, since I was 15, I have been a passionate strength training enthusiast, so I have seen countless people’s efforts in the strength training field.

Looking back, in the investment world, I have been active on Crypto Twitter (CT) for four years, and even before that, I had been lurking on CT and macro finance Twitter (FinTwit) for many years.

During this time, I noticed a significant pattern that applies to both worlds—the gym and the investment community—a parallel phenomenon among certain participants.

Combat Sports + Strength Training

When training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Muay Thai, you encounter all kinds of participants:

Some are really good at these sports (we’ll discuss this in detail later).

Some just try it out and find it’s not for them.

Others are very passionate but, due to busy schedules, give up or participate only occasionally.

There are also those who just play around casually, relatively disciplined but lacking the motivation to make it a significant part of their lives.

However, there is a group I want to focus on in this article, which I call “self-driven” individuals.

These people are usually highly motivated.

They come in with full force, always maintaining 110% effort, in “beast mode,” and are very serious.

They are not lacking in strength, energy, motivation, or courage, but ultimately, they are always inevitably tripped up by their own “self.”

Sometimes, they overexert themselves and get injured.

Sometimes, they perform too intensely in sparring, even losing control, annoying regulars.

Or they push themselves to the limit and get defeated by someone calmer, more experienced, or smaller in size, leading to frustration or anger.

Usually, this pattern causes them to give up completely within a month or to fall into a cycle: come once a month, give their all, then disappear for another month.

But regardless of the situation, their motivation and discipline are repeatedly defeated by their “self.”

In strength training, you also see similar phenomena.

Typically, I notice that men in their forties, who were once very strong and athletic, see their physical condition decline over time.

They are obsessed with returning to their peak state at age 22.

They come to the gym, warm up for 45 minutes to get their body moving, then try to challenge their limits with max squats, deadlifts, or bench presses.

However, almost every time, they either get injured or exhaust all their energy.

Many are even aware that they are caught in this cycle and understand that they should do higher-rep hypertrophy training or at least combine it with weightlifting. But they just can’t let go of their “self,” clinging to their personal best records (PR) from the past, ultimately hurting themselves.

Whether in combat sports or strength training, these people have high skills and motivation, but they end up being defeated by their “self.”

Connection to Investment

This pattern also appears in the investment field. Over the past four years, I have occasionally observed this phenomenon on Crypto Twitter (CT) and macro finance Twitter (FinTwit).

Here, there is a group of people who see “investing” or “trading” as an important part of their identity and self-worth.

Some are individual investors focused on active trading… some are fund managers managing others’ funds professionally… some are macroeconomic newsletter writers… and some are just retail traders.

But they all share one thing: they take trading and/or investing extremely seriously and are very proud of their skills. However, this attitude sometimes manifests in a self-defeating way.

Essentially, these individuals—like those in combat sports or strength training mentioned earlier—are ultimately defeated by their “self.”

I have seen several different manifestations:

They destroy themselves through “revenge trading.”

They argue endlessly with everyone criticizing them, even engaging in various personal grudges online (often over silly things like which meme coin is better or whether the long end of the yield curve will spike), ultimately crashing their timeline.

They become overly obsessed with a particular investment or idea, then create a whole new, evolving worldview to prove that the original hypothesis was correct.

The third—an obsession with one idea—is perhaps the most dangerous because we all can be influenced by it.

I especially notice this happening to very smart people.

They form ideas about certain assets, asset classes, or investments, and when these ideas face difficulties, their minds (driven by “self”) start fighting themselves, constructing a whole set of reasons to explain why the initial assumptions are not wrong.

They begin to change their views… try entirely new ideas and methods… unconsciously creating a complex and vast belief system around a very specific investment or idea.

It’s hard to precisely describe how this phenomenon manifests and the underlying self-hypnosis pattern involved.

Although I usually dislike crude metaphors, I can’t find a better way to describe it than “obsessed with smelling their own fart.” They are basically addicted to their own intellectual exploration, ultimately losing themselves in it, leading to huge financial losses.

At its core, all of this stems from the “self,” even if that self is hidden beneath many layers of intellectual operations—almost a form of “self-hypnosis.”

Of course, this doesn’t mean these people are bad—actually, I think all of us do this to some extent—but it’s a very easy and dangerous trap to fall into…

The Secret to Success

So, what are the common traits of those who succeed long-term in combat sports?

Those who persevere, keep improving, and eventually perform well in amateur or even professional competitions, or those who make real progress in strength training—especially those who maintain an impressive physique even at an older age—what is their secret?

In my view, the answer lies in combining that powerful drive, desire, and motivation with conscious management of the “self” (ego).

They have a self—as we all do—but they possess enough perspective and self-awareness to know they must control the self, not be controlled by it.

Therefore, they just focus on doing their work, day after day, consistently completing what needs to be done.

They don’t treat every sparring session as a championship, risking frequent injuries…

They don’t get into petty disputes or conflicts with others…

They don’t get discouraged or angry when defeated, then give up training…

They simply show up persistently, practicing repeatedly every day.

I believe this also applies to the investment world and Crypto Twitter (CT).

Having a strong ego is good, but you need to keep it in check, always exercising restraint…

You need to turn the ego into discipline…

Persist in learning and improving day after day…

No investor or trader is correct all the time; it’s all about probabilities.

As the old saying goes, even the best traders in the world only have about a 55% win rate…

The biggest enemy isn’t a failed trade or saying something wrong on Twitter…

The real enemy is those “permanent failures” that can’t be undone—losing all your money, crashing and deleting your account, shutting down your fund, or similar things.

So, in my view, the key is to cultivate your “self”—a strong confidence and desire for success—while elevating the self into wisdom.

Purposefully guide it…

Let it become your source of fuel…

And use it to drive you to take massive action every day.

Note: This is the first “article” I’ve written on Twitter/X… If you have any thoughts, feel free to comment below; if you enjoyed this content, please share and support—I would be very grateful! :)