(MENAFN- Khaleej Times)

In a now-famous speech‭, ‬the American actress‭, ‬producer and entrepreneur Reese Witherspoon‭, ‬a brilliant actress‭, ‬businesswoman and‭ ‬entrepreneur-turned-producer‭, ‬talks about the one thing she hated about movies‭. ‬

It happens traditionally in film‭: ‬when things start going south‭, ‬the female lead turns to the male and asks‭, ‬“What are we going to do‭?‬”

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The clip went viral for a reason‭: ‬because we know that women are as good as men in crises‭. ‬Why this line is so common in movies‭ ‬probably has a lot to do with how many men have been involved in making them‭, ‬of course‭. ‬Witherspoon got into choosing‭, ‬developing and producing her own projects so she could change all that‭, ‬doing her part to evolve cinema‭ ‬–‭ ‬and humans‭ ‬–‭ ‬along the way‭. ‬Because when little girls‭, ‬teenagers and grown women see themselves reflected on the big screen‭, ‬giving up agency when the going gets tough enough times‭, ‬it trains our brains over time to do it in real life‭, ‬too‭. ‬

Last week‭, ‬the crypto markets tanked‭ ‬–‭ ‬again‭. ‬It shook even the most committed believers‭. ‬It shook me too‭ ‬–‭ ‬more than any other dip in the last 18‭ ‬months‭. ‬And when it happened‭, ‬for just a few minutes‭, ‬I became the woman in the movie‭. ‬

I found myself scouring the messages in my Telegram crypto group for some encouragement‭ ‬–‭ ‬and I couldn't find any‭. ‬The guys were either silent or defeated‭. ‬The leader of the community‭, ‬who can always be counted on for straight-talking words of encouragement in the worst of times‭, ‬had nothing‭. ‬

No fight‭, ‬no fire‭ ‬–‭ ‬just a bleak prediction‭. ‬He was saying things like this‭: ‬“Everything's going down more‭. ‬Bitcoin's going to 90‭.‬”‭ ‬

I know he knew the dip was temporary‭, ‬but still‭. ‬He has millions invested‭, ‬and he was clearly rattled‭. ‬I started to panic‭. ‬Then‭ ‬I realised what I believe in and I remembered why I invested in this space in the first place‭, ‬and I did something that surprised me‭: ‬I decided to sell some of my crypto‭ ‬–‭ ‬not out of fear‭, ‬but to try and capitalise on the drops‭. ‬

I sold about a fourth of my investment‭, ‬betting that if bitcoin and Ethereum were headed lower‭, ‬I'd buy back in and end up with more‭. ‬But the market didn't really crash further‭. ‬Bitcoin didn't‭ ‬'go to 90'‭. ‬It only briefly dropped below‭ $‬100,000‭. ‬Ethereum dropped by a few hundred dollars‭. ‬

It was an interesting experiment‭, ‬my 36‭ ‬hours as a swing trader‭. ‬I wouldn't want to repeat it‭. ‬Essentially‭, ‬I began to reverse-panic a bit‭, ‬worrying that both would rise beyond what I'd sold them for‭. ‬These are long-term investments‭, ‬after all‭. ‬So I spent time I didn't have buying back in at a slightly lower price‭, ‬maybe‭ $‬600‭ ‬or‭ $‬700‭ ‬less than what I sold for‭. ‬

I ended up with‭ ‬“a bit”‭ ‬more of both‭. ‬Between the high fees of this space and the spread‭ (‬that's the difference between the buy and sell price on an exchange at any moment‭), ‬I'm not sure any of it will amount to anything‭. ‬And until I have more time on my hands‭, ‬I'm definitely not going to be doing it again‭ ‬–‭ ‬at least not until both hit new all-time highs‭. ‬

But the real lesson last week wasn't financial‭. ‬It was emotional‭. ‬Existential‭, ‬even‭. ‬I made a decision‭, ‬and then I dealt with the consequences‭. ‬It was stressful‭, ‬but it was mine‭. ‬

In my 20s‭, ‬30s and 40s‭, ‬I used to conduct a poll of many people in my circle whenever I had a big decision to make‭ ‬–‭ ‬and it was a very counterproductive thing to do‭. ‬First of all‭, ‬the noise was deafening‭. ‬Second‭, ‬why would I think another average person would know what I should do‭? ‬In those years‭, ‬I lived with an internal dissonance‭, ‬one that comes from listening to external forces over that one true voice inside‭ ‬–‭ ‬the one that always knows what you really want‭. ‬

What I learned over those decades is that no one is coming to save us‭, ‬and no one else has the answers‭. ‬You can look at that as‭ ‬depressing‭, ‬or you can do what the best of the crypto community has done‭: ‬let it be a catalyst‭. ‬For taking charge‭, ‬owning your sovereignty‭, ‬and doing the hard work of listening‭, ‬learning‭, ‬falling‭, ‬and rising-until you understand that the only opinion that truly matters is your own Tuesday night‭, ‬the women's crypto group I'm part of held an emergency call‭. ‬The group leader admitted she'd also caught herself looking to men for reassurance‭, ‬too‭, ‬at first‭. ‬Then she checked herself‭. ‬Because despite the dip‭, ‬nothing‭ ‬had really changed for her either‭: ‬not the fundamentals‭, ‬not her belief in the macroeconomics‭, ‬in blockchain technology and in the projects she'd chosen‭. ‬We all nodded in agreement‭. ‬It was amazing‭. ‬

And that's when it clicked for me‭. ‬We may have been conditioned to look to men for answers in a crisis‭, ‬but we don't have to anymore‭. ‬After all‭, ‬it has been my experience with male investment advisors over the years‭ ‬–‭ ‬the ones who used fear‭, ‬who talked down to me‭, ‬who shrugged off my questions and concerns‭ ‬–‭ ‬that led me to take ownership of my financial life in the first place‭. ‬

I forgive myself for looking to a man for answers in the middle of a crash‭. ‬I'm curious that I corrected and then felt bold enough to try and take advantage of the dip‭. ‬And I'm looking forward with anticipation‭: ‬not just to the possibility of an alt season‭, ‬but to being invested for the long-term in an‭ ‬entirely new financial system that most of the world so far knows nothing about‭. ‬

Whatever comes next‭, ‬I'm always ready to learn from people who are more experienced than I am‭. ‬But I am done with asking anyone else what I should do‭.‬

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