Learning the hard way about over-sizing in Crude Oil

I had a rough lesson last year trading crude oil futures ($CL_F) that really drilled home the importance of position sizing, especially in a volatile market. I had a pretty clear read on a potential reversal after a decent run-up, backed by some solid technicals and a weakening dollar, so I got a bit overconfident. Instead of sticking to my usual 1-2 lot size, I went in with 5, thinking it was a high-conviction play. The market, naturally, decided to make one last push higher, stopping me out before ultimately reversing. The move wasn't even that big, but with the increased size, the loss was substantial enough to make me re-evaluate everything. It wasn't about being wrong on the direction eventually, but about being unable to weather the natural chop and volatility because my sizing was completely out of whack with my risk tolerance. Definitely a wake-up call about protecting the downside first, no matter how good the setup looks.