In a bear market, you must continuously invest in yourself.
When the market is cold, it's easiest for people to become complacent and lose their edge.
Many people don't fail because they lack opportunities in bull markets, but because they've already lost their state during the bear market.
Because when the next real market cycle comes, the market only rewards those who prepared in advance.
So what you should do in a bear market is make up for the things you should have learned earlier.
Additionally, long-term laziness will drag you into a state of gradual self-abandonment.
But if you keep yourself in a state of readiness, when opportunities come, you'll be more likely to see them and more likely to seize them.
I've been doing several things recently.
The first thing is learning English.
I've taken about 50 lessons over time.
By now, my biggest feeling isn't that I've suddenly become much more capable, but that I'm gradually losing my fear of speaking.
Although my vocabulary is still limited and I'm far from fluent most of the time,
at least now I can have simple conversations with foreigners.
And when I encounter words I don't know, I don't get completely stuck like before;
I try to use similar or approximate words as substitutes to keep the expression going.
For me, that's progress.
Because language isn't something you wait until you know everything before speaking; you learn while using it.
Now I also write down new words I learn every day in a notebook.
A little each day seems slow, but when time stretches out, you're actually accumulating for yourself.
The second thing is completely upgrading the internet at home.
The newest solution on the market now is WiFi 7.
I installed a TP-LINK AP mesh system.
It's quite interesting—it looks like an outlet on the wall,
but it's actually a router.
It doesn't take up space, and it can provide network coverage to every room and bedroom in the house.
After researching, I discovered that
although my home had gigabit broadband, I could often only get 100 Mbps speeds.
The problem wasn't the broadband itself, but the old network cables in the walls—they were Cat5, which can only deliver 100 Mbps.
Later I had an electrician come and replace all the in-wall cables with Cat6.
Otherwise, no matter how high your broadband is, you still get reduced speeds.
The electrician also recommended a brand called Akihabara, saying their shielding is well-done and Cat6 cables from them are quite stable.
Most people don't think much about their network usually,
but when it comes time to grab IDOs, grab quota allocations, or seize opportunities,
network speed and stability become the most practical foundation.
When the market is good, for your hand speed to perform, your network can't let you down first.
The third thing is a VPN setup.
I increasingly feel that installing a VPN system and using it long-term
helps both improve my writing ability and trading ability.
I previously tried installing a VPN on a Windows computer,
and it worked at first, but after less than two weeks, it completely crashed.
Not just simple disconnections, but the entire VPN environment broke.
Later I even had someone repair it, and their conclusion was very direct:
this setup is unstable on Windows; once it crashes, it's gone.
So from what I can see now, the best solution is still to honestly use Mac.
Either you already have an Apple computer,
or buy a Mac mini separately, specifically for running the VPN.
If you really plan to use a VPN long-term,
then a Mac mini—a small machine that's on 24/7—is basically the most stable solution.
The fourth thing is taking good care of your body.
This is actually more fundamental than the previous three things.
Because if you don't take care of your body in a bear market, if you don't regulate your sleep schedule,
when the bull market comes, people easily fall back into that state of staying up late every night, depleting their bodies, and trading life for returns.
So now I also push myself to keep my sleep schedule as regular as possible,
and maintain some level of daily exercise.
Even just running 3-5 kilometers—as long as you stick with it, it has meaning.
Many people usually think body care isn't urgent,
but when you reach that point later, you'll discover
that without a body capable of handling things, much is empty.
Money is certainly important.
But if in the end you earn the money but your body collapses, unable to even enjoy life properly,
then much of it will ultimately return to zero.
What you should really do in a bear market isn't complain that the market has no opportunities, but gradually adjust yourself to a state where you can seize opportunities.
English is to open information and communication boundaries.
Network is to ensure execution efficiency.
VPN is to improve cognition, writing, and trading support abilities.
Body and sleep schedule are to ensure that when opportunities come, you can truly seize them and handle them.
These things don't look like returns in a bull market,
but when the market really comes back, you'll discover
In a bear market, you must continuously invest in yourself.
When the market is cold, it's easiest for people to become complacent and lose their edge.
Many people don't fail because they lack opportunities in bull markets, but because they've already lost their state during the bear market.
Because when the next real market cycle comes, the market only rewards those who prepared in advance.
So what you should do in a bear market is make up for the things you should have learned earlier.
Additionally, long-term laziness will drag you into a state of gradual self-abandonment.
But if you keep yourself in a state of readiness, when opportunities come, you'll be more likely to see them and more likely to seize them.
I've been doing several things recently.
The first thing is learning English.
I've taken about 50 lessons over time.
By now, my biggest feeling isn't that I've suddenly become much more capable, but that I'm gradually losing my fear of speaking.
Although my vocabulary is still limited and I'm far from fluent most of the time,
at least now I can have simple conversations with foreigners.
And when I encounter words I don't know, I don't get completely stuck like before;
I try to use similar or approximate words as substitutes to keep the expression going.
For me, that's progress.
Because language isn't something you wait until you know everything before speaking; you learn while using it.
Now I also write down new words I learn every day in a notebook.
A little each day seems slow, but when time stretches out, you're actually accumulating for yourself.
The second thing is completely upgrading the internet at home.
The newest solution on the market now is WiFi 7.
I installed a TP-LINK AP mesh system.
It's quite interesting—it looks like an outlet on the wall,
but it's actually a router.
It doesn't take up space, and it can provide network coverage to every room and bedroom in the house.
After researching, I discovered that
although my home had gigabit broadband, I could often only get 100 Mbps speeds.
The problem wasn't the broadband itself, but the old network cables in the walls—they were Cat5, which can only deliver 100 Mbps.
Later I had an electrician come and replace all the in-wall cables with Cat6.
Otherwise, no matter how high your broadband is, you still get reduced speeds.
The electrician also recommended a brand called Akihabara, saying their shielding is well-done and Cat6 cables from them are quite stable.
Most people don't think much about their network usually,
but when it comes time to grab IDOs, grab quota allocations, or seize opportunities,
network speed and stability become the most practical foundation.
When the market is good, for your hand speed to perform, your network can't let you down first.
The third thing is a VPN setup.
I increasingly feel that installing a VPN system and using it long-term
helps both improve my writing ability and trading ability.
I previously tried installing a VPN on a Windows computer,
and it worked at first, but after less than two weeks, it completely crashed.
Not just simple disconnections, but the entire VPN environment broke.
Later I even had someone repair it, and their conclusion was very direct:
this setup is unstable on Windows; once it crashes, it's gone.
So from what I can see now, the best solution is still to honestly use Mac.
Either you already have an Apple computer,
or buy a Mac mini separately, specifically for running the VPN.
If you really plan to use a VPN long-term,
then a Mac mini—a small machine that's on 24/7—is basically the most stable solution.
The fourth thing is taking good care of your body.
This is actually more fundamental than the previous three things.
Because if you don't take care of your body in a bear market, if you don't regulate your sleep schedule,
when the bull market comes, people easily fall back into that state of staying up late every night, depleting their bodies, and trading life for returns.
So now I also push myself to keep my sleep schedule as regular as possible,
and maintain some level of daily exercise.
Even just running 3-5 kilometers—as long as you stick with it, it has meaning.
Many people usually think body care isn't urgent,
but when you reach that point later, you'll discover
that without a body capable of handling things, much is empty.
Money is certainly important.
But if in the end you earn the money but your body collapses, unable to even enjoy life properly,
then much of it will ultimately return to zero.
What you should really do in a bear market isn't complain that the market has no opportunities, but gradually adjust yourself to a state where you can seize opportunities.
English is to open information and communication boundaries.
Network is to ensure execution efficiency.
VPN is to improve cognition, writing, and trading support abilities.
Body and sleep schedule are to ensure that when opportunities come, you can truly seize them and handle them.
These things don't look like returns in a bull market,
but when the market really comes back, you'll discover
they ultimately all become part of your returns.