At any time when your trading is not going well, ask yourself, "What questions am I asking myself? Am I asking the right questions? What is the question I need to ask right now?" Questions are the answer. They lead us out of a morass. They lead us where we want to go.

It's important to make a distinction between the questions that are helpful to ask while researching and the questions to ask while trading. Trading and research are two quite distinct activities and roles. Researching involves thinking and exploring and checking and rechecking, creating methods and verifying them. Trading involves doing: perceiving and acting in a timely manner. Trading is simply applying your methods to the market. Because these two aspects are so different, they require a different type of attitude and questioning.

Some helpful questions to ask while researching might include the following:

• How can I make my trading better?
• How can I put the probabilities in my favor?
• Where is my edge?
• What else could I do?
• What possibilities exist that I haven't thought of yet?
• What assumptions am I making, that could get in my way?
• What is the simplest solution?
• Have I verified that this method works?
• Do I have a sound money management policy?
• What else could I do in terms of position sizing?

Some unhelpful questions to ask while researching could be:

• How can I develop a perfect system? (There is none. Trading is not about perfection.)
• What filters can I put on so I never lose? (It's not possible to trade and never lose.)