Sold 80% of my position because of one ugly candle and watched it do exactly what I planned

Had a trade last week that annoyed me more than an actual loss.

I entered at 41.70 after watching the stock hold 40.80 three separate times over about two weeks. My plan was pretty simple, stop under 40.50 and first target around 46 where it had rejected before.

Second day it opened at 42.60, ran to 43.20, then dumped all the way back to 41.15 in like an hour. Nothing about my original setup had actually broken but that candle looked so bad that I sold 80% around 41.30.

It never touched my stop.

Closed back above 42 that day and hit 46 two sessions later.

I had even pulled up Moon that night and saw the price still sitting comfortably above the level I originally cared about. Still convinced myself I had “protected capital” instead of admitting I panicked.

I'm starting to think discretionary exits are doing more damage to me than bad entries. Anyone else keep a hard rule that you literally cannot exit unless the level from your original thesis breaks?