The Most Powerful Question We Can Ask Ourselves

Play along with me…

Ask yourself, “Why can’t I figure out how to scale my company?” 

Now ask, “How can I scale my company and enjoy the process?

What do you notice?

If you’re like my clients, those two questions create very different results. 

The first question incorporates a negative belief. And our brain will likely give us answers like: “Because I don’t have enough time, money or knowledge,” or “Because everything’s crazy with COVID,” or even the ultimate self-defeating thought, “I’ve already tried everything and nothing works. There’s something wrong with me.” 

But when we change the question to include a belief that feels good, we get an answer that moves us closer to our goals.

When we give our brain an instruction, it goes to work for us to figure out the answer. So why not give it a question where the result will be something that actually helps us?

We ask ourselves questions many times throughout the day without even realizing it. If we start to notice how we frame questions, we can rephrase them in a way that empowers us. 

The best question we can ever ask ourselves is, “How can I?” 

When asking a “How can I” question, don’t get discouraged if you don’t come up with any answers right away. Be kind to yourself. Give yourself the gift of patience. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve drawn a blank to a “How can I” question only to have a fully-formed answer pop into my mind out of the blue the next day. 

And don’t accept “I don’t know” as an answer. “I don’t know” is your brain’s way of saying it’s too hard. Gently nudge your brain forward by asking it to take a guess. The word “guess” helps you open up because a guess, by nature, can be wrong. Give yourself permission to be curious and decide that no answer is “wrong” (some are just better than others), and your mind will go to work. 

I encourage you to ask yourself a “How can I” or other high-quality question every morning before your day becomes full of “problems” (but are really opportunities disguised as obstacles).

Brainstorm

Think of some “How can I…?” questions relevant to the obstacles you face in your business. I’ll share a few my clients have come up with over the years to give you some ideas.

  • How can I scale without hiring more people?

  • How can I make this fun?

  • How can I increase my profit without working more?

  • How can I get paid up-front?

  • What are all the services I provide that can be turned into solutions and productized?

  • What do I appreciate about my business?

  • What do I love about my clients? Employees? Solutions?

  • How can I recapture the excitement and sense of purpose I had when I started my business?

  • How can I get done what I need to do and still have dinner with my family?

Remember when you used to LOVE your business? Find out how to leverage your brain and manage your mind in my bestselling book, Loving Your Business. Separate your identity from your business and turn it into a scalable asset that can run without you. That’s a business you’ll love – and other people will too. Get the first chapter here!

 

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