Thursday Trader's Tip: The 3 Questions to Unlock Peak Awareness

Thursday Trader's Tip editions offer quick trading psychology advice that can be digested in 5 minutes.

Jan 30, 2025

Watch this edition video at the end of the post.

The biggest edge in trading isn’t a strategy—it’s understanding yourself.

When you know what drives your decisions, you also see what’s holding you back.

Every client in my peak performance trading program starts with a deep-dive questionnaire covering their background, motivations, and trading approach. It’s not just for me to understand them better—it’s for them to gain new awareness. Many tell me they connect dots they hadn’t noticed before, coming into our first session with a fresh perspective.

Today, I want to give you three of the most powerful questions from that questionnaire so you can gain insights into your own trading. Grab a pen, and let’s get started!

Question 1: What limiting beliefs are holding you back in trading?

Your performance is shaped by core stories formed early in life—most traders don’t realize they’re running on subconscious scripts. Five key themes drive these beliefs:

Risk
Worth
Money
Control
Emotions

If you grew up believing success meant controlling every variable, that mindset might make you micromanage trades to gain a sense of control. If you constantly heard, "You're not good enough," or "You need to do better," you may trade outcome-focused.

You’ll not find answers just based on your current actions because they’re, most of the time, made subconsciously. You must go back to the time you were programmed.

Tip: Look back at the people who shaped you. Often, their beliefs haven’t changed, which means understanding their worldview can reveal how it influenced yours.

(I covered these stories in more detail in a past post—link here)

Question 2: What are 5 core values you strongly live by?

Another tough one. We all live by countless beliefs, but some shape us more than others. Pay attention to the ones that immediately come to mind—they likely hold the most weight.

Here are some common examples from my interactions with traders:

We get what we deserve.
We create our own reality.
Money is a tool, not a goal.
You get out what you put in.
Freedom leads to happiness.
Everything happens for a reason.
If you’re not growing, you’re dying.
Treat others as you want to be treated.
Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.

If five feels like too much, start with your three strongest beliefs. Then, reflect on how they’ve been shaping:

Your daily actions.
Your trading decisions.

What patterns do you see?

Question 3: What are your three greatest strengths?

Look back at past challenges you’ve overcome—what qualities helped you push through?

Example: A work project where everyone had given up, but I motivated the team and got it done on time.

Now, think of your peak moments—when you felt the most fulfilled. What were you doing?

Example: I thrive when solving problems, helping people, organizing information, or spending time with friends.

Understanding your strengths is one of the most powerful forms of self-awareness. Yet, most people focus on fixing weaknesses instead of leveraging what they naturally do best.

Your confidence—and the courage to take smart risks—comes from knowing and using your strengths. In trading, you need them to shape your trader identity.