Don’t bother with trading. Timing the market is a fool’s game. It’s all about time in the market. Just stick your money in and let it sit there. As you age you will want to move your money to safer investments and focus more on wealth preservation.

Also focus on spending time with your loved ones and doing things that make you happy. When people are at the end of their lives, no one wishes that they had grinded harder or obtained a higher status.

Also not realistic to be in a good headspace everyday. You’re just going to burn yourself out trying to do that. You’re going to have bad days. You’re going to have slow days. Just do your best and hope that tomorrow will be better.

Just invest in mutual funds, max out your roth ira contributions every year. Don’t try and make a living by trading, set aside 10-15% of your income to mutual funds and leave it there until you’re old. Get a job and max out your contributions, or at least max out employer contributions.

Wear sunblock.

Check out Mr. Money Mustache and related resources, like this one, https://livingafi.com/2014/01/21/how-to-live-in-corporate-prison/. That guy did go back to work, due to unexpected divorce and health issues that changed the math. Still lots of good posts on bad workplaces, how to deal with work in healthier ways, and navigating stages of his life was relatable.

With a do-over, I would have picked 100% growth fund in the 401k from the start. If you want some bond funds too, buy them separate, not the target-date or other mixed funds, so you decide which fund type to sell when you want to. Good luck!

does manifestation actually work

Not unless your parents are rich.

If you’re asking about head space, that might be your first sign of burn out. Stop it. Pick a stable, well performing ETF and regularly invest in it. Forget about it for 40 years.

Actual advice: Go to the gym or be otherwise active. I’ve been overweight my whole life (am software engineer) and just recently started investing in MYSELF. The workout sucks, but the results in the morning shower and the mirror feel good. Remember, after ~32 it becomes harder and harder to build and maintain muscle mass.

| does manifestation actually work

only the part where you are doing shit to make things happen works. I guess if you have nothing left to do towards a goal then doing affirmations doesn’t hurt to use it to make yourself feel better, but it’s not going to make something happen for you.

In my experience - manifestation kind of works by changing your focus, you notice opportunities that you might have missed. Though I once manifested a board for our bed by saying I need a board for the bed then opening the door and there was a big board propped up in an alley, and another time a big cardboard box for baby chicks sort of the same way, just looked around wherever I went and found one the same day.

I don’t think it works like that for money, you aren’t going to find it in the alley, but focusing on it can help you get a better job because you are telling people you need one (networking) and open to opportunities to make more money.

Same with wanting a boyfriend/girlfriend. Having that energy, the openness to experience attracts more people.

had some bad losses in trading lately, took a short break and now trying to actually fix my risk management before going back in

Good for you getting out. Don’t get back in. No more day trading. Day trading is anti-social shithead behavior, anyway. If you don’t feel bad for doing it, take a closer look. It doesn’t pass any kind of pro-social test.

if you’re older and already been through your 20s, what do you wish someone told you back then?

Someone did tell me this, but I was a stupid kid. I followed it, but I started stupdily late.

Maybe you’re smarter than I was, but forgive yourself later if you’re not - you’re at least in good company.

Here is is:

"Time in the market always beats market timing. Buy conservative things with real value - ideally that routinely pay a dividend. Hold on to them.

However powerful you think you know compounding interest is, you’re wrong. It’s substantially more powerful than that.

Get it - compounding interest - on your side right now, and keep it there, anytime you can.

Don’t take out any debt that you can possibly avoid."

had some bad losses in trading lately, took a short break and now trying to actually fix my risk management before going back in

Unless you have insider trading knowledge, start with a huge amount of money, or find some other way to cheat, Trading is just gambling.

If you want to invest, put your money in index funds. I used to say the SP500 or 100, but unfortunately Musk has been allowed to just offload his losses into those funds.

SP500 High Dividend Yield (Other companies have similar) are a decent option, they focus on the 500 companies with historically high dividends.

if you’re older and already been through your 20s, what do you wish someone told you back then? like what actually mattered vs what you thought mattered at the time.

1. Stay active, you don’t need to be in the gym 24/7, but find something athletic that you enjoy doing, try to stay in the habit of doing something athletic for an hour every other day at a minimum.

2. Avoid the sugar trap. I get it, soda tasts good, cookies taste good, but the more sugar you eat, the harder it is to avoid sugar later. Get in the habit of eating healthy while you are 20, it will save your life later.

3. Learn to snack better (if you are a snacker). Snacking is fine, snacking on poptarts, mini doughnuts and soda will kill you. I use chia-seed pudding when I am getting snacky, very low calorie, and as a bonus it has a lot of fiber. Make it with a nice tea, and its a tasty, healthy snack that can last the whole time between lunch and dinner.

4. Avoid the manosphere/redpill/Christian Values/Alpha Male trap. It doesnt impress the ladies, it wont make you friends, it just makes you miserable (and then telling you that its everyone elses fault, but they totally see how great you can be if you just buy this 69.99 protein powder).

5. (And this is probably the most important) Learn to not be a an asshole, the bar is literally so low for men that just being a decent human being will get you plenty of attention. Learn to be respectful when women say no, learn to not care if somebody else is gay/trans/black/fat/bald etc, and especially learn to not make fun of people for it. Learn to talk to people, and hang out without putting them down. Learn to be genuinly happy for others successes, and how to build up others.

This will make you actual friends that stay with you, will impress the ladies (seriously, im of average looks and build, and I have a GF, 2 FWB and 2 more sometimes partners, all just from being an actually kind, decent, safe person), and will set you up to have a much more fulfilling life.

also anyone here into manifestation/law of attraction, does it actually work for you? not asking to like wish for money lol, more curious how you actually get into a good headspace and stay there day to day

I remember the random people I’ve interacted that I really liked.

Then I taught myself enough acting skills to pretend to be that person.

I get genrally better service than anyone else.

I also tip well, because I can. That probably helps, but that’s not why I do it.

As others said: Choose to fall in love with brushing and flossing your teeth.

Make that shit your “me” time.

Experiment with expensive or esoteric ways to make it feel great.

If it’s not the best part of your day, change things up until it is.

I would have suffered less if I had figured this out sooner.

Manifestation is just wishful thinking. If you want your life to change, you have to take the actual steps to change it.

also anyone here into manifestation/law of attraction, does it actually work

No.

Just work a real job and learn applicable and useful skills, stop trying to be a successful leach. You’re just gambling.

Manifestation is bullshit, there is no magical method for getting life to just hand you whatever you want outside of working for it or getting very lucky, which won’t ever happen twice, anyone telling you otherwise is grifting you. It’s stupid cosmic woo woo nonsense.

Nothing will ever be handed to you, you only get what you work for, which means you have valid reason to value and celebrate your achievements when you reach them. You don’t stay in a good headspace every day, that’s a naive expectation. Shit will suck and shit will be awesome, most of the time shit will be banal, you take it one day at a time and do the work to be the best version of yourself you can manage.

Nobody owes you a fucking thing.

Get a degree in something you know for a fact pays well. It can be boring to you, its just a thing you’ll do for money. Ideally you’ll want enough to support yourself, your hobbies and social life.

Also manifestation is a pointless mystification of being confident about your goals and pursuing them; if you believe in it, you behave in ways that facilitate reaching your goals. Skip the middleman and believe in yourself instead.