Losing money ultimately comes down to greed.

If you take profits in time and control the pace, you won't lose.

If you don't panic and average down after selling during a decline, you won't lose.

Since you've decided to sell, it means you're not bullish on it in the near term.

Why rush to buy back in after just a small drop?

It's still greed, fear of missing out.

Also, gold and silver were thought to be safe-haven assets.

Chose what seemed to be universally recognized as "low risk".

Avoided tech, chips, and semiconductors which had risen too much and were considered "high risk".

But gold and silver have actually more than doubled in price.

Don't confuse the logic of long-term trends with short-term trends.

And don't use short-term money to bet on long-term plays.

You need to take profits appropriately; you can never catch the entire market move.

Even more important is to step away temporarily after taking profits, don't jump in and out repeatedly.

Just working for the brokerage firm for free.