不下牌桌，你就没有输

Over the past few days, a rush of favorable policies and powerful market rallies has carried the market from a cold, silent period of darkness into a bright moment charged with excitement. In only a few days, people's emotions have swung from extreme pessimism to extreme optimism. The contrast is astonishing.

Wealth consists of assets that can appreciate on their own. For ordinary people, the most important asset is usually their home, followed by stocks, funds, bonds, insurance, and so on. The stock market carries relatively high risk, but precisely because the risk is greater, the potential return is greater too. In a bull market, six months or a year can bring gains of dozens of percentage points or even double an investment—equivalent to many years of bank interest or months, perhaps years, of employment income. Faced with such returns, human nature can hardly resist the temptation of quick money. Pursuing returns is not inherently right or wrong; financial management is itself one way for people to accumulate wealth.

I began investing in funds quite early, motivated by both financial management and learning. I took a long-term view and usually spent little time tending my portfolio. I understand that time is the more important form of wealth. Three years ago, I added to several fund positions. Thinking of them as long-term investments, I paid too little attention to my entry point. Then came wave after wave of sharp declines and slow erosion, and the bear market lasted for more than three years. The economy, policy, geopolitics—almost everything seemed negative, and market sentiment became desperately pessimistic. No one knew how long it would last. Because of the sectors I chose and the relatively high prices at which I bought, my funds were deeply underwater. Even with a long-term mindset, I could not help regretting my impulsiveness.

Yet one saying has stayed with me throughout: “As long as you stay at the table, you have not lost.” For three years, I acted as though the investment did not exist and focused on my work, business, and learning. Unless valuations returned to a relatively reasonable level, I was determined not to sell. Then, over the past few days, as everyone has seen, night gave way to dawn and the bear market seemed to become a bull market overnight. I am still carrying substantial losses, but I am far better off than if I had sold in panic halfway through.

Warren Buffett said, “Be optimistic when others are fearful.” The idea sounds simple, but very few people can put it into practice when pessimism is truly overwhelming. Look at how many people sold at the bottom this year. Far from staying optimistic, many fled in fear.

I should add that investing is not simply a matter of holding on. It also requires rational assessment and continuous adjustment. The point is that chasing rises and selling into falls is a human weakness that we need to restrain and avoid.

What I want to express here is more broadly an attitude toward life.

As long as you stay at the table, you have not lost; you still have a chance. In work and in life, trust that every low point will eventually be followed by a peak. When failure and setbacks come, giving up is easy. But those who truly succeed are the ones who persevere to the end.

Hold on to your faith in the darkness and wait quietly for the flowers to bloom. Along life's long road, we must always believe that the clouds will pass and the sunlight will return.