2020 has been a year of continual challenges, kind of like one of those long Minnesota winters that never seem to end, leaving people generally bummed out and frustrated. That’s when many Minnesotans vow to never live through another winter here again, they threaten to leave but almost never follow through. That’s what 2020 feels like to me! What can we do to live through tremendous challenges and still remain in a positive state of mind? Or, if you are in a good place, how can you help others?
Today I encourage you to Ask Yourself The Right Questions. Can asking the right questions actually change my life? Yes, because the right questions can empower you and lift you to a better place, while the wrong questions will defeat you and leave you hopeless, disenfranchised, and depressed. It’s up to us to learn to start asking ourselves empowering questions that will lead to success and happiness.
Don’t be like Joe.
This reminds me of a guy in my neighborhood named Joe. I now avoid Joe like the plague because I have learned that he only has one thing on his mind at all times: his anger and bitterness with Xcel Energy for laying him off over twenty years ago. Every time he has engaged me, he goes on a bitter rant about what idiots they were for closing his department. Joe is stuck in a horrible state of mind that literally repels people. That’s great for mosquito protection, but not so good for attracting friends. What’s Joe’s problem? He’s asking himself the wrong questions like,
- How could they be so cruel to me?
- How could they be such idiots to lay off some of the best people they have?
Joe hasn’t moved-on in over twenty years. Do you know anyone like that? Are you still angry about something that happened months or years ago? What could Joe do to interrupt this pattern and put himself into a positive state? See a therapist? Yes, but what do you think they would do? They’d ask him empowering questions to think on. He could begin asking himself questions like,
- What was good about my experience with Excel?
- What do I have to be thankful for in my life right now?
- What can I do to create meaning in my life right now?
Here’s why empowering questions make a difference.
“If you’re feeling really sad, there is only one reason: it’s because you’re deleting all the reasons you could be feeling good. And if you’re feeling good, it’s because you are deleting all the bad things you could be focusing
on. So, when you ask someone (or yourself) a question, you change what they’re focusing on and what they’re deleting.”~ Anthony Robbins
Therefore, if you make a habit of asking yourself empowering questions, you’ll force your mind to focus on reasons to be happy, to look for solutions to your problems, and to find ways to overcome your obstacles. If we want to be the happiest and best performing people we can possibly be, we need to maintain a positive state of mind. When a person cuts you off on the highway and you hear yourself asking, “What’s he trying to do, kill me?” Catch yourself because that will only create a state of anger. You could ask yourself an empowering question like, “Well, have I ever made a mistake on the road?” I guarantee an empowering question will put you in a completely different state of mind. You might ask, how is that empowering? It’s empowering because you take control of your own state of mind instead of letting circumstances dictate. In these uncertain times, let’s ask ourselves,
- How can I make life happy for someone else?
- How can I make a greater impact despite our circumstances?
- How can we make some great memories right now?
My quest in life is “To inspire people with a vision for excellence and a conviction that they can achieve their wildest dreams. This compels them to take action and revolutionize their world.” Eleanor Roosevelt said it best when she said,
“Life is 10% what happens to you, and 90% how you react. No one can make you feel inferior without your
consent.”
What you want for your life is in your hands. Don’t give consent to anyone, anything, or any circumstance steal your joy! I want to encourage you to empower yourself today. Ask only EMPOWERING QUESTIONS and watch miracles
happen!
