By Hilde Amundsen
Have you ever had a question that has meant a lot to you, and that has caused you to change your focus? Or are there things that have been said to you that you remember for the rest of your life – that have shaped you as a person?
I have. My doctor once asked me a simple and meaningful question many years ago. I often think about it, because it is an important reminder that I need to choose what I want to prioritize – what I want to do more or less of.
For me there was one important question that helped change my life:
What gives you energy in your daily life, Hilde? Where do you get new energy from? Do you get more energy when you are at home, or are you drained of energy?
Good questions
Asking yourself the right questions is a simple technique you can use to help to change your mindset. What we think about ourselves affects how we perceive a situation. We are not always aware of our thought patterns and how they affect our behavior.
Previous experiences create the foundation for your reactions. Over the course of your life, you develop reaction patterns that become expectations, or basic assumptions about yourselves. This affects your behavior.
The right questions can help you find solutions to your challenges, and break your old response patterns. You can also use the right questions to give you a simple way to expand your perception of yourself or your surroundings.
A simple question can change your way of thinking.
The right questions can help you find solutions to your challenges, and break your old response patterns. You can also use the right questions to give you a simple way to expand your perception of yourself or your surroundings.
It’s often very helpful for me if I shift my focus, take a few steps back and try to look at the challenging situation I face from a different perspective – if I talk to myself and ask myself the right questions.
7 questions to change your way of thinking:
- Try to imagine that someone else – not you – is in the situation you find yourself in. What would you think then?
- What would you say to a friend or your children to help them in the same situation?
- What would a friend say to you to help you with this situation?
- What would be different if you didn’t think the way you think now?
- Does the situation at hand reflect the negative thoughts you have?
- What could happen if you started to think differently?
- Are there different ways to look at this situation?
Simple measures can result in big changes – just by becoming aware of how we react in challenging situations.
