Jean-Pierre Lauzier, sales consultant, lecturer and author of the book “Le coeur aux ventes”, regularly gives his personal and sales development advice on Isarta Infos. Today, he explains the difference between positive questions and negative affirmations. A distinction that’s far from trivial if you want to succeed in your projects!
To get what you’ve never had before, you have to do what you’ve never done before: take actions that push you out of your comfort zone and bring you closer to your goal every day. Some of these actions are more effective than others, and it’s essential for you to know which ones will help you make the most rapid progress.
Some people have the ability to spontaneously define the actions they need to take to achieve outstanding results. Most people, on the other hand, can’t seem to identify them, so they have no idea what they need to do.
But why is this? Do some people have abilities that others don’t, or are they just luckier? Not at all. Luck or aptitude play a secondary role when it comes to achieving a goal.
Learn to talk to yourself
The key to knowing what you need to do to succeed is the quality of the conversation you’re having with yourself. For example, if you take an action and it doesn’t produce the expected results, your conversation with yourself can take two directions:
The first is in the form of assertions such as: “There’s nothing I can do” or “I’ve already tried several times and it didn’t work”.
Usually, the first reactions in our inner conversations are negative. If you persevere with this kind of affirmation, after a while you’ll be convinced that it’s true.
The second is based on questions such as: “It didn’t work, but what should I try next time?” or “What would be the best approach to succeed?”.
When you ask yourself questions, you position yourself in a way that will enable you to find solutions. These positive questions imply that you can improve, progress and achieve the results you desire.
Questions that move you forward
There’s no magic recipe or treasure that will make you rich and famous overnight. You have to make your own path that will take you closer every day to what you want.
To find your way, you need to constantly ask yourself questions that move you forward. By putting your brain in questioning mode, you predispose yourself to find the answers, and sooner or later, you’ll get the solutions you’re looking for.
To improve your living conditions or achieve a goal, it’s imperative that you ask yourself questions that will help you improve and move you closer to your objective, rather than feeding your brain fatalistic affirmations.
Let’s say your goal is to obtain a senior management position in the company you work for. You have a choice:
A. Nurture your thoughts with positive questions, such as:
“What do I have to do to get this job?
“Who can help me position myself better for this job?
“What skills do I need to improve to achieve this goal?
B. Feed your thoughts with negative statements, such as:
“I know I won’t be chosen, because my boss doesn’t like me.”
“There’s nothing I can do, I’ll never get this job.”
“I don’t have the skills and profile to be appointed to this position.”
Clearly, by asking yourself positive questions, you’ll be much more willing to find solutions, and your chances of getting the job will improve day by day.
What do you need to do to develop positive inner questioning? Here are a few ideas:
Have a goal, objective or dream that stimulates and excites you – What do you want? What are you passionate about? The clearer and more specific your goal, the greater your chances of generating positive questions.
You have to believe that you’re capable of realizing this dream or achieving this goal – Work on modifying your belief in your own abilities: read texts, books or other documents written by people who have succeeded in the field in which you want to excel.
Talk to people who can help you realize your dreams, dare to communicate with them, etc.
Failure should not be an option. You’re bound to fall a few times, and it’ll hurt, but as long as you keep getting back up, every temporary setback will help you progress. So get up and try again.
Make an effort to nurture questions of improvement by eliminating negative affirmations. Make sure your inner voice propels you forward so that you move resolutely closer to your dream.
To get what you want, you have to change your attitude and your inner talk through positive questioning. By improving your way of thinking, you’ll find, first, the actions you need to take and, second, the solutions that will bring you closer to your goal.
Even if the results aren’t immediate, you need to keep asking yourself these questions, because it’s the accumulation of positive actions that will determine your level of success.
Happy questioning!
