After a speech about limiting beliefs I was asked; “what common belief stops us?”
The answer: Belief that the solution to what stops you is “out there”. That someone else knows better than you. Resources may be “out there”, but solutions aligned with your purpose are within you.
In last week’s blog we looked at using ‘genius’ questions to access internal intelligence; the YOU that already has the answers you seek. The questions that guide you to what you really want.
Here are examples of questions I’ve recently used and the solutions that resulted. I was able to leverage the solutions because of the questions swirling in my subconscious. You may call the ideas serendipity. I call them ‘genius’.
3 sure-fire questions and what happened when I asked:
- “What do I need to know about (you fill in the blank)”? I was stuck! My blogs were taking days to write, knocking my priorities out of balance. Delegation seemed an obvious answer, but you can’t really delegate your creative voice. So I asked “what do I need to know to have blogging be easy?” Within days the book 15 Success Traits of Pro Bloggers appeared with the answers. Until then I didn’t know there were books about blogging. My limited awareness kept me from an easy solution. You may be thinking “that seems so obvious”, and that’s the point. It was in my blind-spot until the question changed my focus AND results.
- “What do I need to ask about (you fill in the blank)”? Once blogging got easier, the next bottle-neck was posting to social media. Again I went to what Thomas Edison called the “land of the solution” and asked, “What do I need to ask about delegation?” The obvious answer was to hire someone, but was there something beyond the obvious? The next day information about CoSchedule was in my inbox. It helps my social media posts in exactly the way I need right now.
- What would I love? This is great to ask when you’re stuck, confused or distracted. It will re-focus your priorities so you can confidently take needle-mover actions. Forgiveness can also be a productivity strategy.
These questions will put your subconscious mind to work because you can’t possibly know the unlimited number of answers. They guide you to what you really want.
It is critical to continue the process even after the first few good ideas. Those ideas come from what you already know – your past; and will yield the same ole’ results. Resist acting on the first ideas. Sit quietly and keep going. The ideas that arrive later come from your limitless creative intelligence and clear a path for uncommon results. It may take a while for your imagination to re-ignite, but it will. Trust the answers are coming.
When you are over-thinking things or lose focus, shift to your ‘genius’ questions to find short-cuts that increase your productivity. You may even feel like you’ve “found” some extra time.
Next week I’ll share an exercise to harvest the ideas that come from your high-impact questions.
Please share what questions you ask that increase your awareness and productivity.
Thank you for sharing this! Asking the right questions are definitely the key to getting the right answers. I will take this to my heart and practice it consistently! I appreciate your post.