Our brains have this magical area that does nothing but respond to our questions. It’s constantly listening to the questions you ask and trying to solve them. The problem is, most of us are asking the wrong questions. Take for example the difference between the questions- Why am I always so tired? versus How can I make today even better? Clearly, your mind is going to have very different answers to each of those. Let’s look at how the right questions will set your mind up to help you succeed.
If you are asking yourself questions that focus on limitation or fear or discomfort, then you are telling your mind to focus on those challenges. So you will find proof that you do feel that way, or you will see others that have the same problem to reinforce your thought. Remember the example of when you are considering buying a car- you start to think about what kind of car you want and then you start noticing them all the time. It’s the idea that what you seek, you shall find, so if you are looking for reasons to be tired, or frustrated, you will find more of them! However, if you have asked yourself how to make today better, then your mind will draw your attention to things that will improve the day that you might have missed before when you were focusing on something else.
Now it’s 100% human to automatically think about negative things, so don’t beat yourself up about it. It takes a lot of time and focus to turn your thinking around. It will take consistent work of learning to notice what questions you are asking yourself, and then stopping and changing the question when you notice the negative ones creeping in. One of the best ways to start flooding your mind with redirected questions is to write them down somewhere that you will see them each day. Maybe you put a post-it on your refrigerator or bathroom mirror. You can post a sticky note on your computer desktop and stop and read the questions before work and during your lunch break. You can find a friend that wants to also work on asking better questions and set up a time each week to talk about the questions you are focusing on. The key to using this method is that you don’t have to know the answers to the questions! It’s your brain’s job to go out and find the answers for you. If you ask yourself, how can I double my income next year, well your conscious mind might only think that it would be through finding a new job. But if you consistently ask it over and over, it could guide you to a new business idea, or an investment, or maybe even a promotion or gift. You may start to see articles about how people make money in ways you never thought about before. Consistently focusing on positive questions instead of limited thinking is going to give your mind a very different set of results.
When you turn on those positive search engines in your mind, it’s like having your own real-world Google out scanning your life for answers. If you are focusing on the question, how can I improve my health each day, you might overhear someone talking about a new kickboxing workout they tried and discover that you really enjoy kickboxing as well after you try it. If you had been focusing on the question, why can’t I ever lose weight, your mind might have heard that comment and screened it out because it’s hearing that and it puts it into another category or you might react to it with the thought of I couldn’t do that because I’m not as healthy as the person who mentioned it. The questions you are asking are telling your mind how to screen the world around you and help you find what you are looking for.
Can you think of some questions that might be limiting you? I know I’ve spent far too long asking myself why I can’t find a great job. My mind has been in screening mode limiting my possibilities to only traditional jobs. It’s been in conflict with my internal self that’s longing to be my own boss and not have a corporate job anymore. I changed my question to how can I make a significant income and enjoy what I do? It helped me clarify that I wasn’t looking for a job, but I want to be creating one for myself. So I am. In case you didn’t read my last post, I’m getting my Life Coach Certification next year so I can start up my own business and be my own boss! I won’t be limited to a salary that someone else sets. It was all about changing the questions in my mind.
What questions are you going to add to your list? What problems would you like your mind to start solving? Put your trust in the power of your mind and see what results you get. Let me know if you have any breakthroughs!
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