Two Quick Questions for Exploring Your Mindset

Here's something for you if you want to make some kind of change and you're not sure how to start. Try this!

Step one.

Whatever it is you're trying to change, write it down., in just a few words. It might be a behavior, a situation, a problem. Maybe it's something that's going great and you want to improve it. Whatever that thing is, write it down at the top. You could do this on paper, post it notes, your laptop, an app on your phone – whatever works for you.

Then you're going to ask yourself two questions.

Question Number One

What are the parts of the "thing you want to change" that you believe will never change?

Example: You want to work out more and you believe that you will always feel overwhelmed whenever you think about working out. Great observation! That goes on the page.

Now empty your brain. Anything that you think is just not going to change – thoughts, feelings, practical circumstances, beliefs – write all that down.

Work quickly. Don't get hung up on choosing the right words. No one else is going to read this list. It's just for you.

Question Number Two

What are the parts of the "thing you're trying to change" – the thoughts, feelings, assumptions, practical facts – that you believe might someday change?

Whatever possibilities you can see for change, write them all down.

Back to our example: the person who wants to work out more but feels overwhelmed. Maybe, despite that, they think, somewhere in the back of their mind, that if they work hard enough for a really long time they might, someday, find a way of working out that will be fun for them. That goes under question number two.

Your goal here is to fill the page, to empty your mind, to get it all out on the paper. Be honest, don't censor yourself. Nobody needs to see this but you.

And then...

What do you notice? What did you learn? What did you get out of this?

You don't have to do anything else with your lists. Maybe keep them around and take another look in a few days, in case you notice anything different.

That done, give yourself a high five from me. You're awesome! You just took a small but significant step.

I can't wait to see what happens next.