My first big lesson: The cost of chasing a dip in $SPX

Hey everyone, figured I'd drop in here with an introduction and a quick lesson learned that's stuck with me. Been in the markets for a decent bit now, mostly equities and some forex like $EURUSD, but my biggest 'aha!' moment came early on trying to call a bottom in the $SPX. Market had been choppy, I'd seen some decent bounces, and then we had a sharp move down. Instead of waiting for confirmation, for a clear reversal pattern or even a break of resistance on a smaller timeframe, I just kept averaging into a long position on the way down, convinced each dip was the dip. My thought process was flawed; I was so focused on getting a good 'entry price' that I completely ignored the actual market structure and momentum. The problem wasn't necessarily being wrong about the eventual bounce, it was the timing and the sizing. I was so eager to catch the knife that I was overleveraged by the time the real turnaround happened, and a chunk of capital was tied up in a losing position for far too long. Cost me a good bit, but more importantly, it taught me the hard way that 'cheap' isn't always good, and patience, along with objective price action analysis, trumps trying to predict the exact turning point.