3190: 10 Quick Questions that Will Change the Way You Think Today by Marc Chernoff of Marc and Angel

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[00:00:58] This is Optimal Living Daily, episode 3190.

[00:01:01] Ten Quick Questions That Will Change The Way You Think Today, by Mark Chernoff of MarkAndAngel.com.

[00:01:08] And I'm Justin Mollick, your very own personal narrator.

[00:01:11] Hello old friend, and that's not me calling you old.

[00:01:14] Old stands for Optimal Living Daily.

[00:01:17] And this is where I read articles to you so that you can have a little dose of positivity,

[00:01:21] inspiration, motivation, or happiness each and every day.

[00:01:26] So with that, let's get right to another post and start optimizing your life.

[00:01:35] Ten Quick Questions That Will Change The Way You Think Today, by Mark Chernoff of MarkAndAngel.com.

[00:01:43] Judge a person by her questions rather than by her answers.

[00:01:48] Because asking the right questions is the answer.

[00:01:52] The saying, she who teaches others teaches herself is very true, not only because constant

[00:01:57] repetition helps impress facts indelibly on the mind, but also because the process

[00:02:02] of teaching itself gives greater insight into the subject taught.

[00:02:07] Selfishly, this is sometimes the reason Angel and I take on new course students and write

[00:02:12] new personal development articles even when our schedules are full.

[00:02:16] The strategies we teach help us grow too.

[00:02:20] One of the strategies we teach over and over again is self-inquiry, which is basically the

[00:02:25] art of asking ourselves the right questions.

[00:02:28] Why is this strategy so important?

[00:02:31] Because the questions we ask ourselves become thoughts.

[00:02:35] Thoughts then become words.

[00:02:37] Words become actions.

[00:02:39] Actions become character.

[00:02:41] And character changes everything.

[00:02:43] Truth be told, when times get tough and big problems arise, as they inevitably will, it

[00:02:49] is the strength of our character that sees us through.

[00:02:53] And since our character is directly influenced by what we say to and ask of ourselves on

[00:02:58] a daily basis, I want you to think about how you've been speaking to yourself lately.

[00:03:04] Have you been using the empowering, encouraging words you would speak to a friend?

[00:03:09] Or the belittling remarks you would shout to an enemy if you had no heart?

[00:03:13] Or the negative remarks about life you might utter if you had no faith?

[00:03:18] All day long, you speak silently to yourself, and a part of you believes every word.

[00:03:24] Which is why it's important to stay mindful when problems arise, and meditate on the right

[00:03:30] questions.

[00:03:31] Number one, what could you be positive and happy about right now if you really wanted

[00:03:37] to?

[00:03:38] Your greatest weapon against stress and negativity is your ability to choose one thought over

[00:03:43] another.

[00:03:45] Stress escapes from those who refuse to see the good in what they have.

[00:03:49] When life gives you every reason to be negative, think of one good reason to be positive.

[00:03:55] Number two, what's one problem you're thankful you don't have right now?

[00:04:00] Smile, not because life has been easy, perfect, or exactly as you had anticipated, but because

[00:04:06] you choose to be happy and thankful for all the good things you do have, and for all the

[00:04:11] problems you know you don't have.

[00:04:14] Number three, what do you need to stop thinking and saying to yourself?

[00:04:20] Stop discrediting yourself for everything you aren't, and start giving yourself credit

[00:04:24] for everything you are.

[00:04:26] We have to learn to be our own best friends, because sometimes we fall too easily into

[00:04:30] the trap of being our own worst enemies.

[00:04:34] Number four, what are you holding onto that you need to let go of?

[00:04:39] One of the hardest lessons in life is letting go, whether it's guilt, anger, love, or loss.

[00:04:46] Change is never easy.

[00:04:47] You fight to hold on, and you fight to let go, but oftentimes, letting go is the healthiest

[00:04:53] path forward.

[00:04:55] It clears out toxic thoughts from the past.

[00:04:58] You've got to emotionally free yourself from the things that once meant a lot to you so

[00:05:02] you can move beyond the past and the pain it brings you.

[00:05:06] Again, it takes hard work to let go and refocus your thoughts, but it's worth every bit of

[00:05:11] effort you can muster.

[00:05:14] Number five, will you blame others and deny responsibility?

[00:05:18] Or will you create an action plan to move forward?

[00:05:21] Imagine how much more effective and happy you'd be if instead of denying, blaming, dreading,

[00:05:28] and fighting against certain situations and tasks, you simply got them handled.

[00:05:34] Number six, how can you respond from a place of clarity and strength rather than thoughtlessly

[00:05:40] reacting to this experience?

[00:05:43] Every time you're tempted to react in the same old way, ask yourself if you want to

[00:05:47] be a prisoner of the past or a pioneer of the future.

[00:05:52] And remember that our character is often most evident in our highs and lows.

[00:05:57] Be humble at the mountaintops, be strong in the valleys, and be faithful in between.

[00:06:03] Number seven, how can you be of service to the greater good so that everyone around

[00:06:08] you feels elevated rather than weighed down?

[00:06:12] Life is a gift and it offers us the privilege, opportunity, and responsibility to give something

[00:06:18] back by becoming more.

[00:06:20] Thus, the best way to find yourself when times are tough is to lose yourself in the service

[00:06:26] of a cause greater than yourself.

[00:06:29] Number eight, how are your expectations serving you or hurting you?

[00:06:34] Don't lower your standards, but do remember that removing your expectations of everything

[00:06:39] is the best way to avoid being disappointed.

[00:06:43] Because in a sense, expectations are like fine pottery.

[00:06:47] The harder you hold onto them, the more likely they are to crack.

[00:06:50] So just let go a little and appreciate your life and relationships for what they truly

[00:06:56] are.

[00:06:57] Number nine, who or what needs your forgiveness?

[00:07:02] Forgiveness doesn't always lead to healed relationships and situations.

[00:07:06] Some relationships and situations aren't meant to be.

[00:07:10] Forgive anyway and let what's meant to be, be.

[00:07:14] Go ahead and set yourself free.

[00:07:17] When you hold resentment toward another entity, you're bound to that person or condition by

[00:07:22] an emotional link that is stronger than steel.

[00:07:26] Forgiveness is the only way to dissolve that link and break free.

[00:07:31] And number ten, what do you now know better for next time?

[00:07:36] Don't let your fear of past events affect all the possibilities ahead of you.

[00:07:40] Live for what today has to offer, not what yesterday has taken away.

[00:07:46] There will always be obstacles, but we are confined most often by the walls we build

[00:07:50] ourselves.

[00:07:51] What we see greatly depends on how we look at it.

[00:07:56] Forget what you've lost and focus on what you've learned.

[00:08:00] Now it's your turn.

[00:08:02] Today remind yourself that life is full of uncontrollable circumstances, and the only

[00:08:07] thing you can absolutely control is how you choose to respond.

[00:08:12] When you really take the time to think about it, everything happening around us is neutral

[00:08:16] and meaningless up until the point that we give it meaning.

[00:08:21] And the questions we ask ourselves drive the meaning we create.

[00:08:26] In any situation, it's about choosing.

[00:08:29] Will I allow this to upset me?

[00:08:31] Will I choose to make this bad or good?

[00:08:34] Will I choose to stay or walk away?

[00:08:37] Will I choose to yell or whisper?

[00:08:41] Will I choose to react or take the time to respond?

[00:08:45] Bottom line, the questions we ask ourselves drive our behavior, and our behavior is little

[00:08:50] thing that makes a big difference.

[00:08:53] To a great extent, we create our fate every single day, and most of the ills we suffer

[00:08:58] from are directly traceable to our own controllable behavior.

[00:09:04] So keep yourself in check today.

[00:09:12] You just listened to the post titled, 10 Quick Questions That Would Change The Way You Think

[00:09:16] Today by Mark Chernoff of markandangel.com, and I'll be right back with my commentary.

[00:09:21] Thank you to Mark.

[00:09:23] I could definitely relate to this one when he was talking about how teaching others teaches

[00:09:28] ourselves.

[00:09:30] This podcast is a perfect example of it.

[00:09:33] When I'm reading articles, a lot of it is stuff I've heard before.

[00:09:37] I've narrated thousands and thousands of articles, so there's bound to be repetition, but it

[00:09:42] feels different each time, and there's always something to take away.

[00:09:47] Even when I'm sharing my commentary like this.

[00:09:49] As I say these things, it helps me digest this stuff even more, hopefully bringing about

[00:09:55] greater insight.

[00:09:57] Talking about this stuff or sharing examples and stories from these articles that we hear

[00:10:01] is a great way to help our minds process it and store it.

[00:10:06] As an example, I think one of the most powerful ideas that we hear on this podcast from time

[00:10:10] to time is about our thoughts being everything.

[00:10:15] But just hearing it once isn't enough.

[00:10:18] I've read it and said it probably hundreds of times by now, but it's still valuable to

[00:10:23] me and I'll say it again as Mark said in this post.

[00:10:27] Our thoughts then become words, words become actions, actions become character, and character

[00:10:33] changes everything.

[00:10:35] While it might not be said the same way every time, this theme has come up before and I'm

[00:10:39] happy to hear it again because I can always use that reminder.

[00:10:44] So big thanks again to Mark for the reminder.

[00:10:47] Thank you so much for being here, I couldn't keep doing this without you coming back for

[00:10:51] reminders along the way with me.

[00:10:53] Wishing you a happy rest of your day and I'll see you tomorrow, where your optimal life

[00:10:58] awaits.