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You are here: Home / Archives for asking questions

Questioning Your Way to Success

July 22, 2020 by Scott "Q" Marcus Leave a Comment

 

Being a professional in the goal-setting field, I find it fascinating to witness some of the machinations we will go through to achieve our objectives.

There are countless apps designed to help one achieve goals, ranging from diet and exercise to being more organized, to simply uplifting one’s mood. For those less inclined to make change via an app, I’ve heard of some who journal, use to-do lists, or even pray and meditate on the desired outcomes. Of course, hiring a coach helps too. (Hint, hint…)

I am not judging any technique. If you’re dedicated to your goals and willing to do the work, however, you choose it, more power to you – especially in this ever-stressful world in which we find ourselves. That said, if you personally felt stuck and would like to make some changes; whether health-related, financial, or emotional, this four-question process is ridiculously easy to use and amazingly effective.

Question #1: Suppose I was successful; how would I know?

It seems silly to start here, but the reality is oft-times we fall short of our objectives because we’ve never defined the outcome clearly. We say “I want to feel better,” or “I want to get more fit.” Whereby those are lofty intentions, they’re not concrete enough to drive us to an endpoint. Sure, they might get us started, but we’ll often stall because we don’t know when we’ve arrived and the journey feels daunting and without end.

It’s more effective to state a goal such as “I will walk 30 minutes three times a week;” or “I will take time each day to write down five things for which I’m grateful.’

Being able to identify a clear change in behavior is essential to achieving goals.

Question #2: What has to happen for that objective to occur?

Obviously, if we were doing what we needed to do, we’d already be where we want to be. Since we’re not yet “there,” something must adjust. To that end, we have basically four options: start a new behavior; stop an existing behavior; do more of an already-existing behavior; or do less of an existing behavior.

Behavioral changes therefore might be, “put a 30-minute activity appointment in my calendar on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday;” or “reserve 10 minutes each morning to record those things for which I’m grateful.”

The trick here is not to line out an entire series of changes, but to define one simple, effective adjustment you can make to move forward.

Question #3: Can I do that?

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Articles, Excuses, goals, Motivation, Newspaper Column, planning Tagged With: achieving your goals, asking questions, attaining your goals, goals, making change, realistic goals, setting goals, specific and measurable goals

Asking the Right Questions for a Healthier Life

November 17, 2015 by Scott "Q" Marcus Leave a Comment

I love thought puzzles.

maze-and-question-mark

One might describe them as the verbal version of an M.C. Escher painting; they seem to make sense at first blush but something is not quite right.

Play with this one:

Statement #1: Statement #2 is true.

Statement #2: Statement #1 is false.

Try and figure it out. It messes with your brain, doesn’t it?

Not quite the same, but again requiring some thought, let me put forth a theory.

Do you agree that when asked a question, you have no choice but to answer it?

See what I did there. I queried and you answered, proving the theory no matter what you said. Quite likely, you didn’t answer out loud, but at the minimum your inner voice responded and demonstrated I was correct, right? (Gotcha again!) If you replied, “Yes” to the initial question, you obviously agree with the premise. Conversely, even if your response was, “No, that’s a stupid, lame idea,” it still substantiated the hypothesis because you answered the question. The only way that the notion could be proven wrong was if you blanked out after reading the question – which is obviously not the case or you wouldn’t be still reading. See, no matter how we dissect it, it rings true.

That’s because we are “hard wired” to answer questions; there is no “free will” in this venue.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Diet, goals, Newspaper Column, planning, Weight Loss Tagged With: asking questions, effective weight loss, how to maintain your weight

Ask the Right Questions to get the Right Results

November 9, 2015 by Scott "Q" Marcus Leave a Comment

If you’re not happy with the results, maybe you need to change the question.

One reason so many people lose weight — and then unhappily put it back on again — is because they ask of themselves the wrong question.

They ask themselves the wrong question, “How long will it take?”

Based on that question, they will seek out the answers that focus on speed and never learn how to maintain their weight since that wasn’t in the question.

If the question is “What do I need to do to lose weight and keep it off while staying healthy?”

Here are some  powerful questions to ask yourself:

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Diet, Failure, goals, Health, Motivational Monday, Overcoming Obstacles, planning, Weight Loss Tagged With: asking questions, desired results, frustration, lifestyle change, unexpected results, weight loss, your better self

Video: Funny Drill Sargent Ad from Geico About Communication

December 18, 2011 by Scott "Q" Marcus Leave a Comment

In my seminars, I explain that it’s important to be understanding of the intention of the person you’re working with. In this funny advertisement, we see someone who doesn’t seem to get the point.

Filed Under: Asking for help, Conflict Management, humor, Video Tagged With: asking questions, communication, empathy, geico, honesty, humor, relationship problems, relationships, therapy

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