What If The Secret Isn't Answers... But Questions?

Recently, we had a man at our house to look at some windows, and when he came out of the bathroom, he emerged with a curious question about my mirror. "I really like that!" he said, referring to the questions and prompts I had posted there. "Do they help to keep you focused on positive things?"

I told him they are my secret weapon — pattern interrupts.

Throughout the day, these simple questions help to steer my mind toward goals, rather than letting it be pulled into our brain's natural negativity bias—a trap that is remarkably easy to fall into.

Intercepting the Default Mode

When our minds aren't actively directed, they revert back to the Default Mode Network (DMN), which is focused on survival. It makes us sensitive to threats. And it leads to rumination about past mistakes, future anxieties, and self-criticism. And it can be draining!

Empowering questions — strategically placed in our environment — are a powerful way to intercept that negative loop.

I realized the true impact of this when I was a struggling teenager. I realized the question that moved me into my new experience of life was — "What if this doesn't have to be my life? What if there is a better life waiting for me, and I can get to it!"

You can see that by asking the question in this way, it immediately began morphing into possibility! And we're often willing to go after what seems possible, even if it's challenging.

The Quality of Your Questions

As Tony Robbins famously suggested, "The quality of your questions determines the quality of your life."

Instead of asking disempowering questions like "Why," as in "Why is this happening to me?" we can shift our focus to solution-oriented questions like "What's next?" Or, "what am I learning here?"

Some interesting questions: "What if this was easy?" And "How can I make this fun?"

My favorite questions to ask are:

• What if ________ was possible?

• What if ________ was not only possible, but waiting for me to find it?

  (This turns it into a game! And it activates the Reticular Activating System in your brain that starts finding what you've noted as important. You know when you get a new car, you suddenly see the same kind everywhere? You've made it important in your brain.)

For me, having these questions embedded in my environment act like mental fuel. They keep my mind focused on my goals and fuel my resilience to overcome setbacks.

Your Invitation:

What simple, powerful questions or prompts do you keep in your environment to keep your focus sharp and help you move forward with your most important goals? I would love to hear your favorite pattern interrupts!