subject: Time Management Tips - 5 Creative Questions To Move One Step Beyond Stuck Today [print this page] Time management tips double in power when you align them with your intuition. You provide a vital spark to your best efforts by letting this rich fund of imagination inspire you. Remember, you are the one person capable of revitalizing your life.
When you just can't seem to budge on an important task, calling on your creative intuition is especially helpful. The simple act of asking yourself questions and listening carefully to your answers almost always helps your brain transition from old ruts to new routes.
The right questions will stimulate your mind's innate flexibility. You know you're misdirecting your energy, anytime you remain mired in a rut. Many states of mind contribute to feeling stymied, of course. Perfectionism, self-criticism, fear and resentment are just a few contributors. Fortunately, each possesses distortions that the right questions dissipate.
Five Questions to Mobilize Your Resourcefulness:
1. Exactly what does my stuck place remind me of?
Pictures you create in your mind will provide you with a wealth of fresh insights. What images pop up? A roadblock? A blind alley? Quicksand? Does a figure or animal bar your progresses? Any image will provide insights, so look for clues.
2. What moves me forward in this scenario?
Now, use your ingenuity to proceed beyond this visualized stuck place. You can be playful here, so long as you carefully observe the many facets of your solutions. If the project is a long-range one, ask yourself at bedtime for a dream that sheds further light on the issue. Another technique is to give the impasse a voice. You may be amazed at how directly this accesses significant information!
3. What action steps does this translate into?
Here, right brain meets left brain. How might your imagined path be converted to realistically benefit your actual project? Brainstorm action steps you might take to move yourself one step beyond your impasse. Perhaps a large number of answers surge to mind. Record them all, even the fanciful ones. They may lead to very practical strategies down the road.
4. Where am I hiding my power?
Are you coming up empty? Your storehouse of patience, original thinking and persistence is lurking in there somewhere! You merely need to access it, and to identify what covers it up. Again, envisioning your power calling out to you as you explore beyond the conditionality, resistance, resentment can be very inspiring!
You may even decide to relinquish some of what stands between you and your progress. Maybe you will discard an unrealistically high standard, or an excuse you no longer wish to rely upon. Double chair dialogues can be quite helpful here, too. Ask a question, and see what answer floats up.
5. What is this impasse giving me?
This is a great question for when you're really stuck. Bring friendly curiosity rather than with blame to this exchange. Then, you are much more likely to get an answer that is on the mark.
A secondary benefit to answering this question is that you come to understand on a visceral level that you always exercise power. You can redirect your energy to moving forward on your project, once you weigh the actual pros and cons of spinning your wheels.
This question also enables you to recall old bargains you may have made with yourself years ago. Once you put words to these deals and recognize how circumstances have changed, rewriting those old scripts can proceed quite quickly!
Moving beyond impasses is self-actualization on a high level. You emerge with more confidence, clarity and enthusiasm! If you find these questions helpful, try printing them out, so you can refer to them the next time you start spinning your wheels. If it's helpful to you, put the questions in your own words. The more actively you engage in this exercise, the more you will reward yourself.
Now, how will you move to your next level of effectiveness to make the very most of your time?
