Feeling stuck? Let’s ask questions to pull our feet out of the mud.
Asking yourself reflective questions is powerful for building awareness of your feelings and making positive changes towards the life you want. This is extra important when you’re battling pain and problems.
The questions below help to grow your confidence from the past, notice what’s working well right now, and see your future with fresh eyes.
So let’s get to it:
1. Three questions to acknowledge your success so far
- When I’ve faced a valley of pain in the past, what skills did I use to survive and thrive?
- What is a personality strength I’ve relied on to make it through? For example, I used my self-care routine and sense of purpose to start a new job.
- Who has supported me in the tough times?
2. Three questions to notice what’s working now
- Was there a time in the past week where my pain or struggles were a bit less?
- What was happening at the time when things were working well?
- What can I do today to look after my health? For example, take a short walk or get to bed earlier
3. Three questions to grow your future with new vision
- If I imagine I fall asleep tonight and when I wake up a miracle has happened and I’m living my life in the way that suits my health, purpose and family, what will be different? Just a note on this, it’s tempting to say “I’ll have no pain or problems”. That may happen but if that isn’t happening, what else will be working well?
- What is one way my ideal future is already showing up in my life right now? For example, “even though I’m unwell I managed a walk outdoors yesterday.”
- What is a coping skill I already have and will keep using in my future to live the way I want to live. For example, patience, creativity etc.
In your journal:
- Grab your happy journal and jot down your answers to the above questions.
- A final bonus question… what is one way you can go about your day “strengths aware”? This means being conscious of your skills such as compassion, kindness, diligence etc. Often it’s human nature to notice our flaws and failings. Let’s try a new habit of going about our daily tasks with an awareness of our abilities.
