Last week I read a blog post called "Overcoming The Fear Of Selling." You can find it here if you haven't seen it yet. When I saw the topic, I got an association and had a strong feeling about what the actual content of the article would be about. But, I was very wrong.
In my head, fear of selling (FOS as I called it), is very closely related to the expression FOMO, that is, fear of missing out. But, in the article written by @valchiz, it wasn't about cryptocurrencies at all, but about the general fear of selling products and standing in front of crowds. If you haven't read the article yet, do it, because it is great.
But, since I didn't get what I expected from that article, let me share it with you here instead...
My version of Overcoming The Fear Of Selling (FOS)
First of all, Fear of Selling, abbreviated as FOS by me, is given a whole new understanding in Hungarian where the word FOS means shit or shitty. If you use it as a verb, it means to shit yourself. In other words, Fear of Selling, or FOS, is a really shitty thing. Let's continue!
In these days, thousands of people come to the cryptomarket hoping to make a lot of money in a short time. They have FOMO (Fear of Missing Out), and that is why they make irrational decisions based on the fear that it might be too late if they don't jump in right now.
But, once you have entered the field and you are in the game, that is when Fear Of Selling becomes an enemy.
How to deal with the fear of selling...
Those of us who entered the market before or in 2017, all enjoyed a fantastic roller coaster ride that took us all the way to the moon (almost). I remember seeing that all my cryptos doubled in value in less than a week. That is a crazy adrenaline boost. And when you see it once again in the coming week, and then one month later, you are just flying! But, what about selling? Wouldn't somewhere along this road be the time to take out some profit?
When you are on such an upward road, cashing out feels terrible. You have the Fear Of Selling. Do you know why? Often we come up with arguments such as these:
- What if it will go 10x in the next month?
- If it doubled in value, I would be twice as rich...
- It is just mooning... If I sell now, I might miss out on riches in the future!
These are just some of the thoughts that many of us have had and still have, and if you own crypto, that you will get in the future. The Fear Of Selling is a constant enemy.
When to sell your cryptos?
The question is, therefore: "When should I sell my cryptos?"
My answer to that is... make your plans when you buy them, and stick to your plan, even though your feelings and the market might dictate otherwise. I bought some Ethereum around 110 USD... and I sold some already at 150 USD. That feels stupid now knowing that the value is above 320. But, still - I decided to stick to the plan, and I had a 40 USD profit. It isn't really that bad, but if you compare it with how much it could have been, you might suffer.
But, instead of selling like I did on 150, most people join the trip all the way to 320 USD (for example). But, they still don't sell, because maybe it will go higher. However, when decrease shows up, they don't dare to sell, because maybe it will go back up. Who knows where the story will end, but it is a dangerous rollercoastride that might cause regrets in all kinds of ways.
FOS - stick to your plan
Once again.. stick to your plan! Set your selling orders at once (or keep going with a stop-loss that you put higher and higher if the prices go up). It is also useful to not sell everything at once, but instead, sell little by little as the price goes towards the moon. In that way, you will always have something left, but you will also have funds to buy more later (or cashout) if the price should fall.
Don't be a victim of the Fear of Selling
I hope this article will be a little wake-up call in what seems to be the start of a nice little bullmarket. It might feel like you are on drugs, and the feeling doesn't want to stop when things go your way. Enjoy the ride, but use your brain and take some profit! :) Don't be stuck in the shit (FOS) regretting later.
Thank you once again for reading my article. I hope you have enjoyed it. Do you have any FOS-stories that you would like to share? Or how do you deal with the fear of selling? I would love to hear from all of you!
This write up deserves more love, glad that sharing it in the Nat Med server made a difference and nice to see a comment from my dear friend @riverflows.
This is very important information and I learnt a fun fact or two about Hungarian in the process :<)
I have definitely been struggling with fear of selling. I am one of millions of people who got into crypto in 2017 ( May, to be precise ), not because I wanted to get rich quick but because I needed to drastically change my life around ( it worked ) and had been searching for a freedom that I never experienced inside the system.
I experienced the bull market and bought a bunch of coins at the wrong time ( especially XRP and some that don't even exist or lost most of their value ). Luckily I didn't have much to invest back then so I didn't lose too much.
In December 2018 I had some more money to invest and felt that we might have hit bottom, I bought at the right time. A couple of months later I had to sell ( as my newly acquired little house in Portugal needed renovations and a new roof ). I paid for the roof in Litecoin, even though I would have loved to hold longer. Litecoin went up from 20 to over 100 dollar back then and I guess I sold around 60. Selling crypto to pay for a new roof on my first ever house felt pretty awesome though.
I could go on and on with stories like these but let's say that it helps that I'm 100% into crypto ( if I don't count the value of my house ) and I am my own boss, full time writer, so I literally have to sell crypto in order to pay my bills and get food on the table.
This helped me to get over the fear of selling and to not feel too bad when the market pumps soon after a sell.
P.S. I am in the process of selling 25% of my BTC holdings right now ( and you gave me the last little kick behind the butt that I needed ), as I need some money to live on and just HODLing while I'm starving just won't do the trick.
I also trust that I can acquire more bitcoin later, with other coins ( mainly with Hive and possibly loads of Blurt that I am buying heaps of these days ). These days I feel that even if I'd lose it all ( worst case scenario ), I now have the knowledge to acquire and grow my crypto fortune from scratch, once again.
Crypto is the future and we're already there.
Wow, thank you for writing one of the nicest comments I can remember in the history of Hive (personally). It is always amazing when you get a comment with an actual story, personality, and real content! Thanks!
Haha, I remember buying Ripple back in 2017... I bought at 0,2 USD, and sold at 0,25 :) And then it went to 3 USD... anyway, did much worse things than that back in 2017, and seeing your portfolio go 10x in value, and then decrease 20x in value has been a demandful ride. But, I have learned a lot!
But, what you say about actually living from crypto, which forces you to sell continously, sounds actually quite wise and interesting. Just like you would buy gradually, selling gradually and contionously sounds like a wise thing to do!
I admire your lifestyle by the way, sounds interesting... and paying off your roof with crypto most be quite a feeling! :)
Now you inspired me to be more hardcore crypto with your writing. Thanks again, it was an amazing read!
Nice to hear this and you're welcome. Yeah, I like to make actual connections on here and a genuine comment is so much more valuable than a vote.
Your Ripple story is painful too. I bought a couple of 100 Euros of XRP when it was at its peak and had to sell when it was worth around 20 or 25 cents. Bought more afterwards though.
Life and money lessons, indeed. Since I entered crypto, I have learnt so much. In fact it has re-awakened my love for learning, something I had lost after 21 years of being educated and 5 to 10 years as a teacher.
Glad I inspired you. Inspiring people is one of my main goals.
Have a great remainder of the weekend and feel free to drop by on my time line! I connect with those who interact with me ;<)
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Do not miss the last post from @hivebuzz:
Great article. I tried asking someone about selling the other day, knowing I wanted to make small profits over long term hodling but this long term trader was quite patronising, telling me to learn from my own mistakes. He couldn't tell me one way or other why one or other might be useful. This article helps me alot. Thanks xx
It is good to learn from your own mistakes, but it is cheaper to learn from the mistakes of others!
wise words!
I know you asked me before, about trading, @riverflows but we should talk more.
It doesn't always help to take to long term traders or so called 'Pro's'. Sometimes it's fellow sensitive Libras, who understand you, that can give you the best advice ;<)
YES! i want to learn. Maybe you should workshop me!