To The Moon

2025 will go down as one of those years that felt emotionally longer than it was on the calendar. It was a year where headlines moved markets faster than fundamentals, where fear and euphoria alternated with dizzying speed, and where the line between discipline and impulse was tested almost daily.

From Trump’s return to center stage and the policy uncertainty that followed 🇺🇸, to artificial intelligence reshaping capital allocation at a pace I had never seen before 🤖, to gold quietly rewriting its own history while equity investors were distracted by megacaps — 2025 was not just a trading year.

It was a psychological endurance test.

Looking back, the question that matters most isn’t how much was made, but what was learned, what was missed, and what scars were earned along the way.

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$Gold Trust Ishares(IAU)$  

Which Event Defines 2025 for Me? 🌍

For many, 2025 will be defined by AI — the year computing power exploded and valuations stretched imagination. For others, it was geopolitics — tariffs, trade threats, and the constant fear of policy whiplash.

For me, 2025 is defined by volatility.

Not the kind you read about in textbooks, but the kind you feel in your chest when futures are red overnight and your portfolio is already bruised. The kind that forces decisions when emotions are loud and logic is quiet.

Trump’s announcements were a major catalyst. Every statement seemed to ripple through markets instantly. Tariff threats resurfaced. Allies were questioned. Trade partners reacted. Futures swung violently.

And in those moments, I learned something crucial:

👉 Markets don’t wait for clarity — they punish impatience.

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The Opportunity I Regret Missing the Most: Gold and IAU 🥇

If I had to name one opportunity that still stings, it would be gold, specifically IAU.

While tech captured headlines and speculative capital chased leveraged upside, gold was doing something far more important — protecting capital quietly.

I watched it.

I studied it.

I hesitated.

Instead of buying IAU outright, or even executing something simple and structured like selling cash-secured puts on IAU, I stayed on the sidelines. I told myself it was “too late.” I told myself there would be a pullback. I told myself opportunity would come later.

It didn’t — at least not in the way I expected.

Gold wasn’t screaming for attention. It wasn’t volatile. It wasn’t exciting. But it was working, steadily appreciating while risk assets whipsawed.

💡 The lesson:

Sometimes the best trades are the quiet ones — the ones that don’t excite you but protect you.

Selling puts on IAU would have paid me to wait. Buying IAU would have diversified my risk. Doing nothing cost me both income and protection.

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The Trade That Taught Me the Most: Panic Is Expensive 😮‍💨

There was a moment in 2025 I won’t forget.

Trump announced policy news.

Markets reacted violently.

My portfolio went into a 30% drawdown.

Thirty percent.

That number looks clean on paper. In reality, it feels heavy. It questions your confidence. It challenges every decision you’ve made. And most dangerously, it tempts you to do something — anything — just to relieve the discomfort.

I panicked.

I sold.

I locked in losses.

And that taught me one of the most expensive lessons of the year:

❌ Selling during panic is rarely rational — but it’s always permanent.

Markets don’t ask whether you’re emotionally ready. They only care whether you’re positioned correctly. And once fear takes over, logic usually arrives too late.

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Leverage: The Illusion of Speed and the Reality of Damage ⚠️

If panic selling was one wound, leveraged ETFs were another.

In particular: TNA.

On paper, leverage looks attractive. Faster recovery. Bigger upside. The idea that when markets bounce, you’ll bounce harder.

But leverage during drawdowns is not acceleration — it’s amplification of pain.

Buying leveraged products during deep declines felt like “being aggressive.” In hindsight, it was simply increasing risk at the worst possible time. Leverage magnified volatility, eroded capital, and made recovery psychologically harder.

💡 2025 taught me:

Leverage is a tool — not a solution.

And during drawdowns, it’s often the wrong tool.

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The Lowest Point: A $30,000 Drawdown 📉

There was a point in the year where my portfolio was down $30,000.

That number changes how you think.

It forces reflection.

It forces humility.

It forces honesty.

At that moment, I had two options:

1. Spiral into revenge trading

2. Slow down and reassess

I chose to slow down — not perfectly, not immediately, but eventually.

I reduced risk.

I stopped forcing trades.

I respected position sizing again.

I reminded myself that capital preservation comes before capital growth.

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The Comeback: From –$30,000 to +$21,000 📈

Here’s the part I’m grateful for — and honest about.

I didn’t just recover.

I went from –$30,000 to + $21,000.

That’s a $51,000 swing.

Was it skill?

Partly.

Was it discipline?

Eventually.

Was it luck?

Absolutely.

Markets gave me a second chance — and not everyone gets one. Timing aligned. Volatility normalized. Some positions worked. Some mistakes stopped compounding.

🙏 Luck matters in markets.

But discipline decides whether luck is wasted or compounded.

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Diversification: The Lesson That Endured 🧩

If 2025 carved one principle into my thinking permanently, it’s this:

🧠 Diversification isn’t about maximizing returns — it’s about surviving mistakes.

Being too concentrated magnified every error.

Being under-diversified turned volatility into trauma.

Being exposed to only one narrative made me fragile.

Gold would have helped.

Cash-secured puts would have helped.

Uncorrelated assets would have helped.

Diversification didn’t just reduce drawdowns — it would have reduced emotional errors.

And emotional errors are the most expensive ones of all.

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AI, Megacaps, and the Temptation of Chasing 🚀

2025 also reminded me how seductive narratives can be.

AI stocks soared.

Megacaps pushed boundaries.

Computing power became the new gold rush.

But chasing narratives without risk control is dangerous. Valuations expanded faster than certainty. Expectations climbed faster than earnings.

Watching others get rich fast can make patience feel like stupidity — until volatility reminds you otherwise.

💡 The market doesn’t reward excitement — it rewards consistency.

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What I’d Do Differently If I Could Rewind 2025 ⏪

If I could start the year again, here’s what I’d change:

✅ Buy or sell puts on IAU earlier

✅ Avoid leveraged ETFs during drawdowns

✅ Size positions smaller during uncertainty

✅ Accept volatility instead of reacting to it

✅ Diversify earlier, not after damage is done

Most importantly:

🛑 I would stop believing that action is always better than patience.

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Which Opportunity Do I Regret Missing the Most?

It wasn’t a single stock.

It wasn’t a perfect entry.

It wasn’t a timing miracle.

It was missing protection when it was cheap.

Gold.

Income strategies.

Diversification.

Those don’t feel urgent — until suddenly they are.

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What Trade Taught Me the Most in 2025?

The trade I didn’t make — and the trades I exited too early — taught me more than any winner.

They taught me:

• Fear is louder than logic

• Leverage magnifies mistakes

• Markets recover faster than emotions

• Survival comes before growth

• Luck favors preparation

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Final Thoughts: 2025 Wasn’t Just a Market Year — It Was a Mirror 🪞

2025 didn’t just test strategies.

It tested temperament.

It exposed weaknesses.

It rewarded patience late.

It punished impatience early.

And while I regret missing IAU and mishandling panic, I don’t regret the lessons — because they were earned, not taught.

📌 If 2025 taught me anything, it’s this:

Markets don’t need you to be right — they need you to still be here.

@TigerClub @TigerStars @Shernice軒嬣 2000 @ZhukovHatesPepsi @LawrenceSG @Daily_Discussion @Sasori @jerrying @TigerStars @Daily_Discussion