Thursday, May 27, 2010

The most important questions you can ask yourself when you're down.

Have you ever thought about the fact that our brains tend to interpret our lives through internal questioning?

Unfortunately for many, our internal inquisitors are both monotonous and merciless, asking the same few questions over and over again, and then ripping us a new one with our own critical answers.

Questions like,

"What's wrong with me?"

"Why can't I just do this?"

"What's my problem?"
Those are the questions that tend to accompany slips off the wagon. And it doesn't really matter which wagon it is. Whether you're working on your weight, your relationship, your job, life isn't a straight line and neither are our efforts and some weeks frankly we all suck.

I see those times as opportunities. I see those questions as spotlights. They're opportunities to turn things around. They're spotlights to shine on new questions.

The questions?
"What can I do right now that I can be proud of?"

and

"What can I do right now that will help a little bit?"
If you're working on your health maybe you'll choose to make a home cooked, calorie controlled dinner, or write in a food diary, or go shopping for healthier staples, or pack your lunch for tomorrow, or take a 20 minute walk. If you're working on your relationship maybe you'll call someone up and tell them you love them, or buy somebody some flowers, or make the apology you've been procrastinating making. If you're working on your job maybe you'll finish some menial task that's been nagging at you, clean out your inbox, or stay late to finish an assignment.

Bottom line, the situation's the same, all that's changed are the questions you ask yourself to help interpret things. One set of questions is destructive and rear thinking. The other, constructive and forward thinking.

What can you do right now that you could be proud of?

What can you do right now that will help a little bit?