HJ: Almost all of us have a continual inner dialogue which is operating on autopilot so to speak. It is fueled by our subconscious mind which has internalized certain beliefs about ourselves and the world around us from a young age. This creates the framework of our experience of ourselves and ultimately our perceptions about the nature of reality. When you are in a building, you do not see the scaffolding that is the actual framework for the building. You simply see the walls. This is an apt metaphor for our internalized beliefs and inner dialogue. They are like the scaffolding — however, we only see the walls that they support and this creates a problem because if the scaffolding (our beliefs and perceptions) are faulty, we cannot see them through the walls and so they will unduly be influencing our lives in maladaptive ways.
This often takes the form of questions that are a large part of our internal dialogue. Until we become conscious of them through the practice of mindfulness, it is quite common to be asking ourselves questions that are inherently disempowering. These may seem reasonable at first glance, but when we stop to consider what the actual context of the question is, it becomes clear that we are focusing on those things which we do not want. At the most fundamental level, the law of attraction works by bringing us those things which we are focused on, irrelevant of context. In your mind, there is a big difference between a question and a though, but vibrationally speaking, they produce the same results. Becoming aware of our internal self dialogue, and more specifically, the questions we ask that frame our perceptions and reality, can have truly incredible, transformative effects on our lives. By simply shifting our self talk into a more positive framework can have profound changes that echo across our consciousness. Often times, this simple switch is enough to move one from struggle into ease and empowerment.
Noah St. John offers his insight and guidance on this process in his wonderful article below.
– Truth
Use Your Afformations? A new way to banish that negative self-talk.
By Noah St. John | Heal Your Life
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Your answer is in the question.
What is an afformation? No, that’s not a typo. Noah St. John created a new dimension of positive thinking to describe the process of creating and asking empowering questions. Questions compel us to seek answers. By changing the negative questions we ask ourselves into positive ones, we empower ourselves!
Are you one of those people going through life asking yourself disempowering questions without realizing it? And then wondering why you’re not getting the results you dream of? Let’s take a look at the disempowering questions you’re unconsciously asking yourself right now. Then we’ll learn how to consciously turn those disempowering questions into Afformations®, my term for questions which empower.
What are disempowering questions? They’re questions that do precisely that: they disempower you and effectively take away your power to act, by focusing your mind on what you don’t have, what you can’t do, and who you are not.
Questions like, Why am I so broke? Why doesn’t anyone love me? How come I never have enough money? Why am I so fat? and Why can’t I lose weight? are examples of disempowering questions, because they cause you to believe you can’t do the things you want to do in life.
Disempowering questions take away your power to act.
Of course, no one goes around asking these negative questions on purpose. But you may be unconsciously asking disempowering questions like these without even realizing it.
That’s why I’d like you to try something right now. I want you to say these common disempowering questions out loud, and see how you feel as a result. Ready?
- Why don’t I have enough money?
- Why am I so lonely?
- Why am I such a loser?
- Why am I so fat?
- Why am I so broke?
- Why do I never get the breaks that other people get?
- Why can’t I do anything right?
Did you do it? When you consciously ask disempowering questions, say them out loud, or even think them, it doesn’t feel very good, does it?
As I explain in my seminars and mastermind programs, each of us is carrying around what I call a Negative Reflection in our subconscious mind—that negative inner voice that tells us we can’t do anything right. The Negative Reflection always asks negative or disempowering questions like the ones listed above.
The ultimate result of them is that you manifest what you focus on. In other words, when you ask yourself negative questions, you get negative results.
Create an Afformations Journal for yourself and write the five most disempowering questions that your Negative Reflection asks you on a regular basis.
Yes, I mean right now.
These disempowering questions may have come from someone in your past, or perhaps you made them up on your own. Either way, it’s vital that you know exactly what your own disempowering questions are so you can begin to turn them around. (Please write today’s date next to the disempowering questions you write, because when you come back to your notes later, you’ll see just how far you’ve come once you’ve been using The Afformations Method®, even for a very short time.)
Please do this right now. I’ll be right here when you get back.
Whew. Pretty bad, aren’t they?
Are you ready to find a better way?
Empowering Questions—the Right Questions to Ask
Now that you’ve identified the disempowering questions you’ve been unconsciously asking, you’re probably asking another question right now: “Okay, if those are the disempowering questions I’ve been asking, what are empowering questions—and how can I start asking those instead?”
I’m glad you asked!
Empowering questions are those that have precisely the opposite effect of their negative counterparts. While disempowering questions focus your mind on what you don’t have, can’t do, and are not—and therefore take away your power to act—empowering questions focus your mind what you have, what you can do, and who you are.
Empowering questions unleash your ability to take action and express Who You Really Are.
The answers to empowering questions produce feelings of positive self-worth and ultimately lead to answers that tell the truth about Who You Really Are.
Let’s try something fun right now. I want you to change the five disempowering questions you just wrote into empowering questions. How do you do this? Simply reverse the negative question into a positive!
For example, let’s say one of the disempowering questions you wrote was: How come I never get the breaks other people get?
Your empowering question might be: Why am I so lucky?
Or if one of the disempowering questions you wrote was: Why am I so fat?
Your empowering question could be: Why is it so easy for me to lose weight?
Got it? Grab your pen and change your five disempowering questions into empowering questions in your Afformations® Journal. Are you ready to experience the Afformations difference? Go for it!
Pretty cool, huh? Did you notice something shift in your mind? What does it feel like? In your Afformations Journal right now, write the difference you feel from doing the first exercise to doing the second one.
Congratulations! You’ve just begun an amazing journey to your new abundant lifestyle.
Noah St. John is famous for inventing Afformations® and creating high-impact, customized strategies for fast-growing companies and leading organizations around the world. His sought-after advice is known as the “secret sauce” to creating instant superstar performance in high-growth businesses.
