So, first off, you might be wondering, why sell now? "This cycle still has months to go! ETH will hit $10k! BTC will hit $100k" - well, maybe you're right (now that I've sold, you're probably right!), I actually do believe that the market still has a few months left in it, after all, we bounced back pretty well after this recent dip, but, I had a goal and I have to stick to that goal.

For me, the goal when I bought in at 2017/2018 was paying off my mortgage (with of course enough to also cover any tax)

I know that most users here have only like $500 invested, so, it's easy to scream "HODL!" but, believe me, once you get close to your goal, those dips become scary. For me, the weekend "dip" wiped off $40k in value. That $40k meant not paying off the loan, "damn, i was so close," I thought.

And here's the thing, I've been just above the goal for a week or so, but I held because I got greedy - I bought into the hype. That 'dip' was a nice little reminder, "don't get greedy, stick to your goal and sell", so I waited for the dip to rise as best as I could and for the goal figure to be reached again (luckily this happened) and I sold.

Some history and lessons learned along the way

I've been interested in crypto for many years, so I'd like to reflect on that time and put the lessons learned from each phase into a simple table here for y'all:

There you have it, many lessons learned throughout the years, but if I had to distill it into the most important ones:

1. Actually use the things you're buying, test them for yourself. Make sure you really believe in what you hold, and not just because people are saying it will moon.
2. Buy in a bear market. And yes, there will be a bear market, of course, maybe not now, maybe in 6 months, but there will be one. Be ready. That is where I made my biggest gains. I know, this part is hard, when things are really bad (remember when BTC hit $4k in the "dip"), everyone loses faith and thinks, "it's going to $1k" - but that is just greed. DCA your way in for best results if you have to.
3. Stick to your goals. Don't be like me and get greedy, only to then get spooked. Thankfully, everything bounced back, but what if it didn't? I would've missed paying off my house because I got greedy waiting for ETH to rise even further.

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Truthfully, I will never completely move away from crypto. I believe in it long term. Hell, I had less anxiety about moving BTC and ETH around than I did about requesting my exchange to withdraw to fiat.

Who knows, everyone here is still super positive, the sub keeps getting new members (or maybe it's just people creating alt accounts?) the run keeps going, BTC hits $100k, ETH hits $10k and I will look at it like, "damn, maybe I should've held," but that's OK, it's very hard to time the market and hit the top just like you can pretty much never buy the bottom.

I'll live with that because I'll have achieved at least one major goal.

I hope you guys can do the same, and I hope you have the fortitude to 'hodl' when you need to, and sell when you need to, when it's your choice.

EDIT: Thanks for all the replies guys. To answer some of the recurring comments and questions; yes, I sold out in phases, yes I still hold a small amount compared to what I sold (I won't shill projects here) including moons (this is an alt account). I will continue to post here and continue to post on this alt account. I've been posting here since 2017. Yes, I will continue to invest in Crypto.

EDIT 2: So, this blew up. I've tried my best to read and reply to as many people as possible, and of course, many scammers have contacted me (so I'm glad I posted this with my alt account), I'll add a few more things here and leave it at that since I think this honestly has too much attention for what it is, I'm just a regular dude sharing some thoughts.

1. Yes, everyone, the goal price considers my tax!
2. I'm not in the US
3. Yes, there are many financial advisors here saying that I made a terrible mistake and should've kept my mortgage. I guess everyone has a different situation and different goals, so consider their posts, even though they're having a go at me for making a dumb move - who knows, maybe their advice is right for you
4. Yes, this is real, and this is my alt account, it's not some conspiracy by whales to make you also sell.
5. The intention here is not to scare people off or also make them sell, I just wanted to share and reflect on what crypto has been for me. I didn't want this much attention.

TLDR; I watched early crypto for a couple of years and did nothing. Then I dabbled with mining and got burned. Then I missed ETH ICO. Finally I got involved in the last run seriously and experienced the crash. Held till now and perhaps sold early, but thats OK.