Editor’s note: This guest post was written by Paul Plamondon: life coach, workshop designer, and author of Invisible Lives.
It is a fundamental, human dynamic – what we believe influences what we do. Our beliefs can limit or can enhance the results we get in life. When we change our limiting beliefs, we change our lives.
One way to examine and transform our beliefs is by using questions – actually, powerful questions. That’s because powerful questions tend to create connections and inspire possibilities.
Here are six powerful questions that will transform a limiting belief into an empowering belief. Spend 15 minutes on these six questions, and change your life.
Question 1 – Current Belief (2 minutes)
What belief do you currently hold about yourself, others, or the world that seems to limit you in some way?
[Example: I don’t deserve to be successful.]
Question 2 – Current Behaviors (3 minutes)
What adverse behaviors does this limiting belief generate?
[Example: I skip around from job to job about every six months; I leave one job for another at the point when I start to feel comfortable with the work; I avoid making friends; I spend a lot of time playing computer games; I’m eating too much junk food and I’m not exercising enough.]
Question 3 – Current Results (3 minutes)
What adverse results have you been getting from these behaviors?
[Example: Some months, I don’t make enough money to pay all of my bills; it’s getting harder and harder to find new jobs; I have gained 30 pounds in the last 2 months; I’m uncomfortable in my body and my clothes are too tight; I think I’m drinking too much; I’m overeating and not exercising at all; I sometimes feel depressed; it’s hard to wake up in the morning.]
Question 4 – Desired Results (3 minutes)
What positive results would you prefer to be getting?
[Example: Make more money; be able to save enough money to buy a house; pay off my bills; feel more confident; find someone to date; improve my writing skills; stop drinking; feel happy; wake up feeling refreshed; lose 30 pounds; start exercising.]
Question 5 – Replacement Behaviors (3 minutes)
What behaviors will help you achieve these positive results?
[Example: Enroll in a self-development class at the Community College; buy some work-out videos for home; check out the community clinic’s counseling services; find a better-paying job in construction; take a class on architecture and on developing my writing skills; prepare a monthly spending plan or budget; make a weekly low-calorie meal plan and exercise at least 4 days every week; commit to a single job for at least one year.]
Question 6 – The Replacement Belief (1 minute)
What empowering belief will stimulate these behaviors?
[Example: I am in the driver’s seat of the one and only life I have. If I don’t steer the car, no one else will.]
A Few Things to Notice
There are three important elements of this activity to notice:
1) The last three questions are similar to the first three questions, but they are in reverse order. Essentially, once the results of the limiting belief are identified, then you work back through the process;
2) The replacement belief is NOT just the opposite of the original limiting belief – that is, the replacement belief was not I deserve to be successful. Instead, the replacement belief was visually stimulating by virtue of the driving metaphor, which makes it memorable.
3) When answering the questions, avoid getting stuck on the “right” answers. Whatever you come up with will be right. Take a brainstorming approach to answering the questions, avoid judging your answers, and simply enjoy the process.
Try working through this activity with someone else – someone you trust and with whom you can be totally honest and open. Have the other person ask you the questions and, as you verbalize your answers, write them down for you. Working through this process with another person can create a deeper sense of reflection and accountability.