The Quality of Our Lives

We grow up with lots of wise sayings haunting us. Some of them are even good advice. There was one saying like that in our family that seems suspiciously like my parents were angling for me to grow up to be a professional coach. But whether they were plotting or not, it stuck to me. Even now I see the truth played out before my very eyes.

My parents said

"Morgan, The quality of your life will be determined by the questions you ask yourself and others."

I've been mulling it over this week. I think I have questions on the brain since we’re getting ready to start filming FAQ videos about coaching next week. But I realized that questions of every kind have a special power to them.

We joke here at Wild + Brave that there are only ever 2 things standing between you and your goal: You, and Other People.

It's rather un-funny how true it can be.

Using Questions to Move Forward

But what if, instead of beating ourselves up for not being where we want to be yet, and instead of getting frustrated with the other people blocking our progress, we used something as tiny as a question to move us forward.

For some reason, we think that making progress (especially on important things) is supposed to be difficult.  Something as simple and insubstantial as a questions may surprise you in how much heavy lifting it can do.

Here's why a tiny question can have so much power: A good question CONNECTS.

Questions You Ask Yourself

A good question  you ask yourself, connects you to your own thinking, your reasons, your emotions. It can help you sort through your own experience and make use of it. With reflection, or challenge, or curiosity you can change the course of your future and transform your experience of the present.

Questions You Ask Others

When you ask someone else a question it connects you to their knowledge, their wisdom. But even more than the information we can get with a question, asking tiny questions about the mundane elements of life creates a two way connection of caring and interest.  It allows people to feel seen and valued.

3 Scientific Tips for Connecting:
Facebook Live on Friday

This Friday we’re going live on our Facebook Page to drink coffee and talk about how to genuinely connect quickly through these kinds of questions. We’re even going to share the 3 tiny tweaks you can make to your approach that drastically improves your connection. Oh and by the way, it works with strangers and spouses alike. 🙂

Come join the conversation, pick up some useable tips from the science of Positive Psychology, and let us know how you are choosing to live Wild + Brave.

Pick a Question + Try For Yourself

But for now, if you’re ready to let a simple question change your life, consider trying on some of the following questions for size:

Questions to Ask Ourselves:

• What part of my day is the most stressful?
• What's a small thing I could do to improve my experience of the more stressful parts of my day, to make it even a little easier?
• Who lifted my spirits recently?
• If I could have a little more of one emotion in my life, what emotion would I want to experience more of?
• What's something I'm proud of myself for trying recently?

Questions to Ask Other Humans:

• What's your favorite way to feel at the end of the day?
• What's something that inspires you?
• How do you know when you're ready for what's coming?
• What's a small thing in your life you really enjoy?
• What makes you feel loved or valued?
• If there was one thing you wished people noticed about you or your work, what would it be?

If you try this, please let us know! We love hearing from you. And maybe we’ll see you live on Facebook this Friday.