Achieve 2016 resolutions…decide to be determined…you have this mental power!

Ask-More-Tell-More-Greg-Warburton

In my new book, Ask More, Tell Less: A Practical Guide for Helping Children Become Self-Reliant I point out the power of practicing “catching” the questions you are asking yourself because the instant you ask a question your mind works on answering it and enables you to build self-reliance.

Remember:

Lousy Questions  =  Lousy Answers

Quality Questions  =  Quality Answers

Looking back at a prior blog post that remains totally relevant…Jacob Rainey, a high school star quarterback out of Virginia, was getting noticed by college coaches.  And then, in a news article in the Toledo Blade on 12/24/11, the headline read, “QB inspiring others after amputation.”  All the foreseen sports possibilities, the article states, “were taken away, without warning, when he was tackled during a scrimmage on September 3.  He suffered a knee injury and a severed artery and part of his right leg had to be amputated.”

The article further highlights that this courageous young man said, “I don’t know why me…I’ve never really asked myself that question.  I think that would just make me feel sorry for myself, and that’s the last thing I want to do.”

You see, he seems to instinctively know what many people don’t.  No matter what your circumstances become when challenged by life, “Why me?” is a lousy question.

It was the spring of 1979 and I had just completed running the first annual “Great Potato” marathon in Boise, Idaho.  I met my goal to run the entire 26.2 miles without stopping.  And I met my goal to sustain my mental focus  to run at may training pace for the entire race even though many runners “rabbited” by me.  Later that summer, I was riding my motorcycle when I was hit by a car and had my right leg traumatically amputated below the knee at the instant of impact.  I was 27 years old.

I remember that I never asked “Why me?”  Instead, immediately after the accident, I began asking a better question, “What do I have to do now to live a productive life?”

Thirty-plus years later, as I write in detail in my new book, Ask More, Tell Less, I remain crystal clear that watching what we put our mental focus on is a life-changing practice in and of itself.  Decide to develop an attitude of mastery as you practice catching your lousy questions and then turn them into quality questions.

If you slip up early in the year on a New-Year resolution, instead of asking “What’s wrong with me?” you could immediately ask, “What is right about me and my life?”  and “kick start” your motivation.  As you begin the new year, arm yourself with quality questions.