What’s in the blog?
This blog is about how to turn your investing mistakes into lifelong lessons instead of costly habits. From understanding why losses happen to learning from history’s biggest market crashes and legendary investors, it’s a practical guide to investing smarter — and with fewer regrets.
Table of Contents
I’ll start this blog with a confession: “I have failed in the market”. In fact, I remember my early days of trading, where every loss felt like a personal failure.
If you’ve ever regretted putting your money in the market or taking any specific trade, trust me, you are not alone. On the contrary, the feeling of regret is the most common emotion in the world of investment. What separates a successful investor from those who say the market is not meant for people like them is the commitment to learn from the mistakes and move ahead.
A very common saying in the market is that the “stock market forgives those who learn.”
And so, this blog is all about learning from investment mistakes.
You might have heard, “It’s good to learn from your mistakes. It’s better to learn from other people’s mistakes.”
So, let’s dive in.
Why Regret Feels so Personal?
Before we proceed to the learning part, let’s address the elephant in the room first. I’ve had my share of emotional journey walking through the ups and downs of the market with my bundle of mistakes. I’ve talked to other investors and traders in the market. And, one string is common for all – we take market failures personally and have to learn to grow out of this.
Market regrets are simply not about losing money. The regret roots typically stem from the feeling of “I should have known better.”
It is at this point that we need to pause and think logically. This is the juncture where you need to make a choice whether you want to learn from the mistake and grow, or you want to keep spiralling in the thoughts of:
- “Why me?”
- “Why did I not listen to my gut feeling?”
- “Why did I again trust that tip?”
- “Will I ever get it right?”
- “Should I leave the market altogether?”
Making a choice reminds me of our founder’s TEDx talk where he shared about his mistakes in the market, the humongous loss and how he learned from the mistakes. You can watch it on YouTube, and that’ll surely tell you, experts in the market, too, have been there and made those mistakes you are making. But they have made the choice to learn and grow.
The Most Common Mistakes Beginners Make in the Market
Beginners (and those who don’t learn from mistakes) often make the same kind of errors in the market.
Let me list down some common mistakes that I’ve seen people make so that you can check for yourself how many of these you might be doing or repeating. This is not to make you feel guilty or like a noob. This is to make you aware of the mistakes so you can be mindful going forward.
- Not doing enough research
- Following viral tips from influencers without understanding the business
- Averaging down blindly, thinking that you are getting great deals
- Exiting quickly in panic during corrections.
- Not defining entry, exit and stop loss before entering a trade
How many of these mistakes have you made? I’ll be honest, I’ve done them all in the beginning phase of my learning.
People make these mistakes, and sometimes they even start believing that the stock market is a gambler’s playground. But the truth is, the problem is not the market; rather, our approach is the real issue.
How to Turn Regret Into Wisdom?
Now, here, the first step is to accept that we all make mistakes. We take bad trades, we exit early or maybe too late. We sometimes trust tips and ignore our guts.
And, that’s okay.
What’s not okay is letting these mistakes drown you in regrets.
The stock market is one of those rare places where you can mess up, learn, and still come back stronger if you’re willing to change your approach.
Here are a few things that have helped me be a disciplined investor, and I’m sure these will help you as well. I’ve learned some of these from my experience, and some are taken from discussions between other experienced investors.
Start a Decision Journal
Most of us track profits and losses, which is good but not enough. If you start tracking your thought process behind taking trades, you’ll not only become disciplined but also start recognizing your patterns.
When you write why you are entering a trade, what are you expecting from this, what’s your entry and exit strategy, what’s your stop loss, etc., you’ll be doing every trade with full clarity. The chances of taking random trades or being influenced by an influencer are reduced significantly.
Over time, this journal will become your personal roadmap as to what works for you and where you tend to fail.
Make Your Own Rules (Based on Experience)
We all have different temperaments, risk appetites, and styles. Interestingly, we tend to repeat similar mistakes unless we don’t recognize the pattern and wilfully break it. So instead of blindly following others, build your own personal rules based on your own past mistakes.
For example:
- “I won’t enter a stock right before earnings.”
- “I’ll never invest in something I don’t understand.”
- “I’ll always define my exit and stop-loss before I enter.”
Remember, these rules are not to make you rigid but disciplined.
Learn the Fundamentals (Seriously)
This is extremely important. When you learn the fundamentals, you start understanding the business behind the stock and that changes everything. When you know the business, you are less likely to be affected by random news. You stop chasing momentum and start investing with conviction.
A lot of people do the mistake of learning the chart patterns, tools of technical analysis while completely ignoring the fundamentals. This can bring you the biggest regret you’ll have in market ever. Patience to hold during the noise and clarity to exit comes only with the knowledge of fundamentals.
Use Technical for Planning, Not Predicting
Honestly, a lot of us see the knowledge of technicals as a magic crystal ball where we can see the future. It is important to understand that technicals are not about predicting price rather about planning your actions.
It is to help you know where you’ll enter, where you’ll exit and what’s your risk. This understanding helps you set alerts and stop reacting emotionally.
Don’t Try to Control or Time the Market
It is very human to want the market to move in the direction that is beneficial to us. If we have entered the market hoping for a stock to go up, we want the market to go complete bullish. But, the hard truth is that market won’t move the way we like; it never has.
Market has it’s own way of moving. As an investor our task is to observe the market, adapt our strategies and respond accordingly. Our hopes and wishes and prayers can’t control the market.
Don’t Let Your Regrets Stop You
When a few trades go wrong, lots of us feel like completely quitting the game. Everyone does mistakes. But, the best investors learn from their mistakes and come back stronger.
If you need to learn, take a break, learn the art and come back. But, do not leave the market just because one or two bad innings. The more you observe, reflect, and stay in the game, the more wisdom you gain. That’s how regret becomes your edge.
Most people don’t fail in the market because they lack knowledge. They fail because they never learned how to bounce back from regret.
My Take
The market has seen storms far bigger than our personal regrets. The Harshad Mehta scam in 1992, the dot-com crash in 2000, the Lehman collapse in 2008, and the COVID market crash in 2020 — each shook the confidence of millions.
And yet, big players like Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, Radhakishan Damani, Warren Buffett, and countless others didn’t just survive — they thrived. Not because they were immune to mistakes, but because they learned faster than they regretted.
The market rewards patience, discipline, and the courage to show up again after you’ve been knocked down. Regret is inevitable, but wisdom is optional. Choose wisely.
If this blog made you rethink your approach to investing, pass it on to someone who would benefit from this. Wisdom grows when it’s shared.
Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
Don’t invest in anything you don’t understand. Before acting on a tip, research the business, check its fundamentals, and make sure it fits your investing plan.
First thing, if you have set a stop loss, respect your system and exit at stop loss. Next, averaging down is not always a bad idea but averaging down blindly can be dangerous. If the fundamentals of a stock have deteriorated, buying more will only deepen your losses.
By respecting your research and system. Corrections are normal. If you’ve done your research and set your stop-loss levels in advance, you’ll have a plan to follow instead of reacting emotionally.
Review EVERY trade you make. Identify what went right or wrong, and keep a trading journal. Over time, this habit compounds into wisdom.
