"Since we basically walk the paths in life prescribed by our questions, it makes sense to ask those which can take us where we want to go." Marilee C. Goldberg, Ph.D.

If you're not making money through your trading, you are probably not asking the right questions. The reason questions are so important is that they direct your thinking and your energy and ultimately your actions. Answers give you an assemblage of facts, but questions set up the groundwork for those facts. Questions create the architecture of your thinking and establish your direction. They direct the vital focus of your mind.

There are questions that empower and questions that are toxic in life and in trading. Some questions keep you stuck in the past and some move you forward. For example, "Why do I always lose?" presumes that if you have lost in the past, you will lose now, and in the future. Furthermore, it establishes your identity as a loser. On the other had, "How can I increase the probabilities of winning?" assumes that you can create an edge to change your trading in the future. It creates a potential for becoming a winner and identifying yourself as a winner.

Some questions are virtually unanswerable. "Why am I such a loser?" is a simple condemnation and is not answerable. "How can I change this? How can I begin to win?" implies possibility and calls for an answer. The first question focused on the problem and would remain stuck in the problem. The second and third questions, focused on the solution and presumed that there is a way out of the dilemma.

Some people tend to stay away from asking questions because they are not comfortable with not knowing. People who become anxious about not knowing have a very difficult time trading because trading is nothing but uncertainty. Courage lies at the heart of creative questioning (and trading) because it requires the willingness to ask questions that might have no answer or might challenge your current position or way of thinking and perceiving. Other people have a vibrant and easy curiosity and automatically ask questions when confronted with a situation.