Questions to Ask to Free Yourself from Doom and Gloom

There are questions to ask that will empower you to become free of worry, let go of fear, and break free of doom and gloom. When you ask key questions, and ask them in the right way, an amazing transformation occurs. You move out of pessimism and back into optimism.

We're going to explore some of the most helpful questions to ask that can change your life. But before we do this, let's look at questions NOT to ask.

The first question we'll look at is: What’s the worst that can happen?

This is one of the most common questions people ask in hopes of getting someone to feel better and lighten up.

"Awe, come on Steve! If you don't make it to your job interview on time, What’s the worst that can happen?"

Will this question help our friend Steve?????

Not likely.

The theory is, "Steve" will think of the worst that can happen in his tough situation:

I won't get the job… My wife will leave me… The FBI will come after me...  And then he will snap out of his worry and realize: “None of those things are likely to happen!” or “That’s not so terrible!”

Does this approach work? Try it right now on some worry you have. Pick a small worry to test it out and then ask yourself "What is the worst that can happen in this situation?"

How did it go? Did you try it?

Really try it. Yes, now.

If this question really works for you, terrific! I tip my hat to you.

However, I invite you to do some soul searching and truly ascertain if it does work.

In my experience of asking this question as a coach and asking it withn myself, the question RARELY works.

Why?

The question “What’s the worst that can happen?” focuses your attention right smack dab on the worst that can happen!!

It is a perfect recipe for increasing fear and concern.

Feelings go where attention flows.

You get what you focus upon! That is self-help 101.

What I suggest you do is avoid questions that make you focus on the negative.

What's wrong with me? Why do I always make mistakes? How come I have not met someone yet?

Those kinds of question increase the liklihood of mistakes, low energy, and down times.

Break the habit of asking them.

What does work?

How do we shift our attention back to a worry-free track? Do we ask “What’s the best that can happen?”

Well, try it. See if that works for you.

In my experience, what works is not focusing on the worst that can happen, and not focusing on the best.

What works, is focusing on what IS happening.

What is happening? This is the all important, middle ground question that will clear your worried mind.

And the great thing is, you don’t have to answer the question. You just have to create a positive relationship with it.

In any situation, make it a practice to ask “What is happening?” Find the one thing that is staring you in the face. It might be another person saying or thinking a thought. It might be a feeling in yourself or a sensation in your body… or a computer screen in front of you…

Focus on physical reality. Use your senses. Notice your body and what is occurring.

Focus your attention like a laser beam on whatever is occurring now and your mood will naturally and automatically uplift itself.

When you are present—here and now—you are free of fear.

Ask yourself often: What is happening? Feel and relate to what is, in reality, occurring. This is not difficult, nor is it complex. It’s totally freeing and it stops doom and gloom in their tracks!

Living worry-free starts by relating now to what is. It's as easy as breathing…. it is about slowing down and going step by step.

What is happening?  What is real?  Not imagined fears in the future or ghosts from the past.  Just the beautiful present.

Let me know how this goes. I’d love to hear from you in the comments down below.

There are so many simple and effective questions we can ask ourselves or others when we want to be of help. Here are some good ones to get you started:

What lasting spiritual or inner gifts would I love to receive today? This is good to ask in the morning because it sets a positive tone for your day.

What would love do here? How would Love see this situation? These questions are about being in your Heart. Feeling and acting from love. Be love. Act as love. These questions can practically make you a Zen Master.

What gifts are in this challenge that have gone unnoticed so far? Everything is a blessing in disguise, and this question uncovers the disguise.

What would faith see here? This is similarly powerful to the love question above.

What would Gandhi do? (Or fill in the name of anyone you admire) When you genuinely ask yourself this question and feel into the answer in your heart, it can change your reality for the better.

What am I appreciative of? What am I grateful for? These are good questions to ask at the end of the day. They relax the mind and get you to focus on the positive. Gratitude for what you have brings you more of what you want.

You might also like to explore the work of Byron Katie. She has based her work on asking four questions to empower you and help you break free of limiting thoughts. There is a dialogue process to do, but in a nutshell you look at a specific negative thought you are entertaining and then ask yourself:

Is it true?

Can you absolutely know that it's true?

How do you react, what happens, when you believe that thought?

Who would you be without the thought?

Some more great questions were made known by an Indian guru named Ramana Maharshi. There is an article on him here you might enjoy: http://hubpages.com/_3edkak3ffgnpl/hub/Ramana-Maharshi

He came up with powerful self-inquery questions to help people experience Zen-like peace.

"Who am I?" was one of his questions. Another is "For Whom does this arise?"

The goal with Ramana Maharshi's questions is NOT to answer them, but rather to BE the answers. This is a big topic and will be tackled in another article. But the basic idea is: Don't look for the answer with thought!

With the question: Who am I? Just ask it and be still. Be silent. Let yourself be the answer. Be your Self. Feel alive and you will be free. There is nowhere to go but here in your heart.

When you have a worry or negative thought, you can ask "For Whom does this arise?"

What this question can do is help you "become bigger" than the negative thought.

You see, in Eastern teachings, you are not your thoughts.... you are the Self who surrounds them.

So the question "For Whom does this arise?" gets you to break free of negative thought patterns, because you are the One watching the patterns, rather than being stuck in them.

In summary, there are always questions to ask to support empowered living and inner happiness.

Ask new questions.

Ask from the heart and answer from the heart. This will make you feel good and make your life shine.

With new questions you find new solutions.

"There are only four questions of value in life: What is sacred? Of what is the spirit made? What is worth living for, and what is worth dying for? The answer to each is the same - only love." ~ Johnny Depp, from the movie "Don Juan" (1995).

If you enjoyed reading this article, please:

- Share it with others (Digg, Twitter, Facebook, email, posting links, sharing the RSS feed, etc.)

- Vote “up”

- Make comments or ask me questions

On a different note....

Do you have something to share or teach others? Perhaps you have a great recipe, travel tips, or a yoga routine you can teach.

We all have gifts to share. HubPages, this very website, is a fantastic way to share our gifts. This is a site for anyone to post articles and attract traffic and clients. You don’t have to be perfect to get started, just passionate about something. There is opportunity for great exposure and making money.

Visit the home page to see what it is about and set up a free account: http://hubpages.com/_3edkak3ffgnpl/