A desire for reassurance can be expressed in apparently opposite ways:
One can express self-doubt directly: “I’m unsure about what to say.”
One can (paradoxically) assert one’s self: ‘Surely you don’t mean to say ………………………
Of course one could simply be aware of his state and ask for reassurance. This is the riskiest of the three as it [...]

He puts a coin in the machine, thinks, ‘Three lemons this time.’ They don’t come up. He puts a coin in the machine thinks again, ‘ Three lemons for sure this time.’ They don’t come up. He deposits his third coin, ‘it is inevitable, three lemons.’ He pulls the handle. THREE LEMONS! I knew three [...]