The interesting thing about a question is that it not only presupposes an answer. It also presupposes the authenticity of the question. The question sets up a gestalt that ultimately engineers an answer. Wrong question: wrong answer. And the answer seems believable.

Sometimes we're not even aware of the questions we're asking. A simple statement or thought often has a silent or implicit question behind it. A person who stays frozen and can't pull the trigger to enter a trade might well be unwittingly asking himself, "How can I be sure this trade will be a winner?" The unspoken question causes him to wait for confirmation, and by the time clear confirmation comes the trade has passed him by. Opportunity passes like a cloud.

In my book, "Exceptional Trading: The Mind Game", I write about positive and negative worry. Worry starts with a simple question: "What if. . .?" "What if, I'm wrong?" What if, I lose?" "What if, I lose all my trading capital?" The person doesn't say, "Now, I'm going to think about all the terrible things that could happen to my trading and make myself feel bad and maybe bring it to pass." No. She simply quietly thinks "what if" and soon she's off visualizing disastrous results. Strangely, thought mixed with emotion tends to attract that which we think about.

Positive worry is just the opposite. You start with the same simple question: "What if. . .?" Only this time you ask for what you want. "What if, this trade is a big winner?" "What if, I become a really good trader?" The process is the same. You begin to imagine what you want and soon you're feeling good about it. Once again thought mixed with emotion acts as a magnet for what you're thinking.

You can use positive worry as a shield or a sword. If you catch yourself doing negative worry, flip it immediately with the opposite "What if. . .?" "What if, I can't do this?" "What if, I get really good at this?" That would be using positive worry as a shield from the negative worry. You can also use it as a sword: simply begin with what you want to happen and precede it with the "what if" question. "What if, I relax and just accept what the market offers me?" "What if, I really can view my trading as a series of probabilities?"