The beginning of the year can feel a lot like the beginning of the school year or those first days of springtime for people who are eager to start fresh. Even though it’s winter which can mean cold and gray in many parts of the country, it can feel like starting a new school year or a blooming reawakening.
You can start something new any time of the year, although it doesn’t seem like mid-July is when new projects, ideas, or initiatives are launched. If you are feeling a little stuck where you are, it’s not a new job or a new city that kicks off a brand new chapter or direction, although it certainly can. It’s more of an internal shift. Changing your thinking that is later backed up by new and different behaviors is the best way people know that something has changed for you.
How can you change your thinking? Some questions can open your mind to new possibilities. If you feel stuck, are unhappy, frustrated, tired, or eager for a change, ask some questions of yourself, or pose challenging questions to others as a way to start the process. The questions may seem are simple but your answers can be the path to a more satisfying outcome in your life.
- What do I want?
- What options do I have?
- What am I assuming?
- What am I missing?
- What can I learn from this (situation, person, mistake, success, failure)?
- What is the best use of my time right now?
- What do I usually do?
- What’s the upside if I do ‘this’? What’s the downside?
- What questions should I ask?
It’s not always easy to stop, reflect, and ask questions that take some time and thought to answer. However, instead of thinking and acting the way you usually do, if you want to get unstuck and move in a different kind of direction, ask questions first that get you to think in a different way. Your answers can get you to act in a different way.
You never know where it might move you.
