Gold prices are fluctuating violently, with countless retail investors trapped in the obsession of long and short positions, practicing their discipline.

The fluctuations in the gold market over the past two days must have unsettled many holders. Personally, holding my position through the ups and downs has given me a taste of the mental struggles everyone watching their screens is going through.

Just yesterday, Goldman Sachs directly and significantly lowered its year-end gold price target to $4,900. The moment this shift to a cautious institutional view emerged, combined with the market's bet on the Fed's September rate hike probability rising to 76% and U.S. Treasury yields climbing in sync, gold prices came under immediate pressure. Many who chased the highs and entered the market were instantly trapped, filled with regret while reviewing the charts late into the night. Yet on the other side, the World Gold Council's survey data is right there before our eyes: nearly 90% of central banks still plan to continue increasing their gold holdings. The long-term logic of gold purchases providing a floor hasn't disappeared. The bullish and bearish clues are pulling in both directions, causing the market to swing back and forth repeatedly.

Today, several banks simultaneously tightened risk controls. China Guangfa Bank directly raised the margin requirement for gold and silver deferred contracts to 140%, significantly raising the trading threshold. Many retail investors accustomed to frequent short-term operations were forced to passively reduce their positions, either cutting their losses and exiting to bear the floating losses, or passively adding funds to withstand the volatility. The feeling of being caught between a rock and a hard place is truly agonizing.

While a one-sided decline can be cleanly stopped with a loss, it's this contradictory market situation where institutions are bearish but central banks are hoarding gold that most easily traps ordinary people. Greedy and unwilling to take profits when prices rise, fearful and unwilling to cut losses when they fall. In just two short days, account profits and losses flip back and forth. Many people stare at the minute-by-minute charts, unable to sleep all night, their mindset repeatedly torn between greed and panic.

I've also missed rebounds and endured floating losses over these two days, deeply understanding this feeling of powerlessness being swept along by conflicting news. The market never follows our obsessions. Short-term institutional views and short-term interest rate expectations are ultimately just a passing breeze. There's no need to negate yourself over one or two days of volatility.

Every moment of hesitation between rising and falling is a form of cultivation bestowed upon us by trading. Only by letting go of the heart eager to make quick money can we endure the market's ups and downs.