Hope ... fails us in financial markets

Do you like to invest in a stock because you like the scrip, company or its management for any logical, rational or weird reason ? Have you kept a stock though it was falling because it was a good scrip ? Have you kept a stock because you thought it would come back to the high price you bought ? You are probably doomed to lose money if you are doing this. If not doomed to lose money, at least you may lose a host of many opportunities you may have used to make better use of your money.
This is not to say that you should move every time the stock seems to fall below your cost price. If you understand chart patterns, an analysis of stock behaviour can tell you whether the stock price is in for major trouble. Else, you have to take proper call based on overall market behaviour and check with your financial advisor. Most of the time, you would know you tried to ride the price swing at the wrong time.
I will not talk about the importance about having stop losses because I know that in case you are reading this with interest, you probably have hardly ever placed stop losses.
Decide whether the decision was right or wrong. Don't put your emotions to work. Put your mind to work. You have the right to be wrong.
If wrong, is there any reason for you to hold onto the stock ? If there is a valid reason, hold, else quit your position.
However, I want to tell you one more thing - I know of people who keep their stock for extended number of years. But since their mindset is only investment, they finally make decent income after holding stocks for years. The only thing you should take care with respect to such investment method is that good quality stocks should be selected and you should not feel bad scrip falling down more than 50% from the point where you could have hit jackpot and now waiting for it to rise again.