“Be clear-headed, know your interests, understand gains and losses, know how to advance and retreat” means: know when to move forward and when to retreat, and be able to understand the relationship between gains and losses.

It is a metaphor for a person who can clearly see the environment and situation he is in when doing things, assess the situation, and be good at observation and choice.

"Knowing gains and losses, knowing how to advance and retreat" is Liu Bang's famous saying. When he was comprehending life, he mentioned that life is not about how many things you see clearly, but how many things you take lightly. The width of the soul is not how many people you know, but how many people you tolerate. Being a human being is like a mountain, looking at all things and accepting all things. Being a human being is like water, you can advance and retreat, but you know how to advance and retreat. Those who are willing to suffer losses will not be able to suffer losses in the end and will return sooner or later; those who are willing to admit defeat will not lose their self-esteem in the end and will definitely win the hearts of the people.