All of us get stuck from time to time. Whether a relationship problem, work challenges, financial habit or health dilemma, inevitably on the path to our goals, something gets in our way. As a personal and executive coach for over 15 years, there is one tool I’ve discovered can help you get unstuck again and again: A Powerful Question. I like to call them “PQs” (powerful questions) and starting this week, I will share with you a simple, but perspective-shifting PQ you can ask to get unstuck in the most common challenges of everyday life.
This week’s PQ is one of my favorites. Think about the situation you’ve been complaining, ruminating or even gossiping about. You might even feel like the victim and feel justified in your complaints. But to move from complaining to resolving your challenge, I invite you to stop yourself the next time you start to talk about the situation and ask yourself this simple PQ:
What do I want?
It’s a simple question that shifts your focus from the past to the future. Complaining focuses on what you don’t want. Solutions focus on what you do want. It is empowering to declare what you want and need. And even more powerful to take steps that lay the groundwork to get it. It all begins with asking – then answering – the question.
