relevance.

Slithering under

A surprise attack

As arms twined

An embrace so warm

----------------

Love is a just a game.

A phrase you might have heard before, perhaps you might not have.

In any case, I believe that I am able to provide a detailed illustration of this game of love using an anecdote.

Love is like a game of trading. A relationship similar to the monetary investments and returns.

A trader puts in his money, investing in a certain stock/currency. Hoping to get good returns.

That's because usually no one would invest in something without hoping to have a happy feeling after that.

The market is doing well, the trader is happy. It's time for the trader to decide if he wants to withdraw his winnings or leave it there in hope of getting more profits.

Withdraw

As trading is quite a gamble, the trader might decide that he has had his fun. He does not want to take the risk of losing what he has just gained. He withdraws his money from trading and spends it on himself instead.

Fight on

However, if the trader decides to continue trading, he has to prepare himself for the ups and downs of the market. Sometimes when the market is good, he earns a little; Sometimes when the market is down, he loses a little.

The problem comes in when the trader gets comfortable with trading and suddenly hits a downfall - something he does not know how to deal with. He begins to lose money beyond his imagination. He is devastated and upset. The happiness from the profits he had before are starting to be washed away by the incoming sadness and anxiety.

Faced with a situation like this, the trader has two options - withdraw or keep fighting on.

Withdraw

Should the trader withdraw, he would stop loss, preventing him from losing further. He may not feel good about it, but at least he has a piece of mind that he no longer has to suffer from the devastation of losing even more money.

Fight on

On the other hand, the trader might decide otherwise. Since money has already been invested and a huge sum has been lost, it would be a waste to just leave it as a loss. Perhaps he should take the gamble and fight on, as there is a possibility of earning back what he has just lost. In this case, it truly is a gamble as there might not be an opportunity to stop loss and it might just end up as a downward spiral. The trader would feel even more upset and devastated. 

However, there is still the possibility of everything working out in the end and the trader earns back the money he has lost.

Basically, it is not only in relationships do we have the two choices of withdrawing or fighting on. In life, we are often faced with decision making which we get put in the spot.

At the end of the day, all we want to do is seek happiness, and we would do anything to protect ourselves from devastation. 

Love is a game,

but life is a gamble.

M.