The Power of Questions
“Questions are the answer.” - Tony Robbins
Here is one of the coolest, most practical, most empowering things I ever learned - it’s from Tony Robbins:
It’s the power of questions.
It pretty simple and it goes like this: if you ask your brain an empowering question, you’ll get an empowering answer. If you ask a disempowering question, you’ll get a disempowering answer.
For example:
If you ask, How come I’m not more successful? your brain will give you answers - answers that make you feel lousy.
But if you ask, What can I do to feel more successful? or What’s already successful about me? you feel a positive shift immediately.
Other examples: if you dread doing a certain task, instead of asking How come I have to do this? you can instead ask, How can I do this and enjoy the process?
Even more examples:
I can’t afford it
becomes What can I do to earn enough money to buy this?
Why me? or Why did this happen to me?
becomes What can I learn from this? or What’s good about this? or How can I use this?
If your answer is still negative, ask a follow up question:
What would be good about this if I wanted to find something good about it?
Here’s one I particularly like when I’m feeling angry, embarrassed, or fearful:
What’s funny about this?
Isn’t it amazing how a single question can change your entire outlook? How it can motivate you to take positive action, or close your mind to possibilities?
I don’t apply these questions all the time. I get caught up in the doldrums like everybody else. But they sure do help in a pinch and they’ve made a huge difference in the overall quality and happiness of my life.
For a more indepth study on the topic, I recommend buying Tony Robbins’ Powertalk CD on The Power of Questions. If you contact his people and ask for it by name, they’ll find it for you. It’s around $30.
Do you apply the power of questions in your life? Leave a comment.
what are better questions to ask myself? -v- why didn’t i think of that?
YAY & THANKS, Mark!
Hi Mark,
I like this post, and the idea of asking yourself those important questions.
In our business we often ask the “What can I learn from this?” question. It often opens the door to unexpected possibilities.
I have to remember to try it in other aspects of my life.
I like that. It reminds me of the power of positive thinking. I believe that it truly does help to keep a positive outlook on things. This question method is sure a great way to do it. Thanks for sharing!
Questions ARE powerful! I like what you say about rephrasing the question in a positive light. That can make all the difference and change our whole outlook on the situation at hand.
Hi everyone - glad you appreciate the post. The fun part about asking the right questions is how creative you can get with it:
Here are a few more powerful ones:
What would I like to accomplish before I’m old?
How can I be more creative in this situation?
How can I improve my service to others?
Hi Mark - I love Tony Robbins. Trouble is, it’s difficult to remember what he said on each CD. Thanks for reminding me to ask more empowering questions. It certainly makes a difference, but it’s a habit that’s easy to slip back out of.
It’s all about changing your focus or attitude. It’s amazing how if we feed our mind negatives it gives negatives back. If we feed it positives it gives positives back. I am always asking myself what I can learn from any given situation or how I can see the bright side of it. Tony Robbins is great. I’ve been wanting to look more into his work.
I love your site!
“The questions that you ask yourself determine your reality”. That has been one of the most powerful lessons I’ve ever learned. One of my favourite questions to ask myself in times of difficulty is “how can I turn this situation to my advantage?”
I think it was Robbins where I first learned this technique. Since then I’ve had the opportunity to interview Dr John Demartini a couple of times and he has a similar approach to asking the right questions.
http://gdayworld.thepodcastnet.....nd-author/
Cath - you’re welcome. You’re right - it is easy to slip out of asking the ‘right’ questions. I needed the reminder myself, which is why I posted about it!
Jennifer - welcome! Thanks for stopping by. Tony Robbins has much to teach. I highly recommend.
Cameron - welcome to the cafe, my friend. An honor, indeed. (For those of you unaware of Mr. Reilly, he is the founder of The Podcast Network, of which I’ve been a fan for the past 3 years, particularly of “The Advaita Show” which solves the riddles of life and does it with a lot of laughs and even porn music. Check it out. Be sure to click Cameron’s link & name to explore his awesome work)
Cam, I’ve heard your Demartini interviews and really enjoyed them. I like your question, too.
I was talking to Corey over at http://www.simplemarriage.net and he asked me a great question that has changed the course of my life. I was talking about work and I said that all jobs have things in them that you don’t like. They all have bad parts to them. He just said the word “WHY?” Then he followed with does it have to be that way? Well, that conversation led me to starting my own business and I cannot think of anything I don’t like about working now. I feel passion about my work. I feel alive!
Which questions we ask ourselves and each other can make all the difference. :O)
Laurie - love that. Very cool story. Thanks for sharing.