The year of the financial crisis, I was still in college. To understand what those complex financial derivatives were all about, I pulled out textbooks on futures and options and studied them myself. Later, I actually interned at a futures company. At that time, rebar futures had just been launched, and the company assigned me to sit in the steel market to explain to traders how to use futures. During my free time, I also took on part-time work selling phone recharge cards.

After a few months, I realized that deep down, I still aligned more with Buffett's approach—choosing good companies to hold long-term, rather than wasting time in high-leverage games like futures. So I resigned. But I’ve always kept an eye on various futures products. To be honest, I keep a distance because I know how exaggerated the risks involved can be.

In the past month, with nothing to do and feeling bored, I suddenly thought of futures again, so I casually tried a small strategy to test the waters. Honestly, that thrill does come quickly, and I did make some profit. But the problem is, my mindset started to waver again, and my discipline in execution became sluggish. No matter how much money I make, if it causes me to feel anxious and restless every few days, affecting my work and life, it’s not worth it.

In the end, I decided to stop. Some things just aren’t my cup of tea. Recognizing that is actually a kind of growth.