Ditch Your Positive Affirmations For Lofty Questions

Use this technique to reprogram your subconscious mind.

Positive affirmations are the OG self-help tool.

While some swear by them, many of us want to believe in their magic but feel like complete frauds when we recite them.

This highlights the inherent problem with traditional positive affirmations.

• They don’t account for self-image and self-identity.
• And when you affirm something that goes against your current self-image, your rational mind will naturally try to sabotage the affirmation.

This makes the process robotic, unnatural, and difficult to create meaningful change.

For example, let’s say your goal is to improve your health and fitness. Every morning you repeat to yourself: “I am so fit and healthy or I have an amazing body.”

But before you finish uttering the last syllable, self-doubt creeps in. That tiny voice in the back of your mind interjects and says: “No you don’t. You ate two bowls of ice cream last night and skipped your morning workout.”

But there’s a way to trick the mind that bypasses your current self-image and eradicates self-doubt.

You use a technique called lofty questions.

What are Lofty Questions?

A lofty question is a question starting with “why” and was first introduced as a “mind technique” by intuitive healer Christie Marie Sheldon and later popularized by Vishen Lakhiani through his various work.

It is basically a positive affirmation reframed and supercharged as an empowering question. So instead of saying: “I have an amazing body” or “I am so creative and brilliant”, you ask:

“Why do I have such an amazing body?”

“Why am I so creative and brilliant.”

However, most of us spend a lot of time doing the opposite: we ask ourselves disempowering questions. We tend to ask:

“Why is my life so hard?”

“Why can’t I lose weight?”

“Why am I so unfulfilled at work?”

We might not realize it, but the questions we ask hold immense power over our lives. Or as Tony Robbins has been saying for decades:

“The quality of your life is a direct reflection of the quality of the questions you are asking yourself”

This is where lofty questions shine.

How do lofty questions perform their magic?

There are two main reasons why lofty questions are so powerful.

1. Lofty questions leverage the brain’s natural ability to solve problems and solicit ideas.

• The brain is wired to constantly be on the hunt for information that serves our needs and desires. Essentially, it’s a problem-solving machine.
• To the brain, problems come in the form of questions, which the subconscious mind loves finding answers to.
• And when you ask the same question repeatedly, it will go to work “behind the scenes” to get those answers.
• So instead of barking back at you with a negative rebuttal (as with positive affirmations), all potential self-doubt is removed, and your brain can use its energy to solve problems.

Lofty questions become a way to hack into this power so you can reprogram your subconscious mind to create the change you want in your life.

2. Lofty questions are a gateway to accessing Universal Intelligence.

One of my favorite spiritual teachers, Michael Bernard Beckwith often points out that through its various laws (like The Law of Resonance and others), the Universe will always answer any question we present it.

“When you ask what’s wrong, by law, the Universe begins to pull from the database of human consciousness to show you all reasons why something might be wrong.” — Michael Bernard Beckwith

However, what if we consistently asked better questions, like: “Why is my life filled with so much beauty and peace?”

In the same way, the Universe will oblige that question by revealing to you all the ways peace and beauty are present in your reality.

How does the Universe do this?

As the source of infinite intelligence, the Universe has knowledge of, and access to everything in the physical and non-physical realms can provide answers to our questions and solutions to our problems.

And our subconscious mind is the conduit.

In the 1937 classic Think And Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill refers to the subconscious mind as the “receiving set” that “tunes” our minds to infinite intelligence. In other words, our subconscious is the connecting link between our finite mind and the greater knowledge and intelligence found in the Universe.

“Ask and it will be given.”

You likely heard some variation of that statement. This is the idea behind lofty questions as a personal development tool.

By asking “why” questions, not only do we tap into our subconscious mind’s ability to solve problems, but by doing so, our subconscious becomes a portal to greater insights that are way beyond our consciousness.

These insights can show up as bursts of inspiration, dreams, gut feelings, intuitive flashes, visions, and serendipitous events.

How to Create Lofty Questions

Here are some points to keep in mind when crafting your lofty questions.

Focus on emotional states.

Your lofty questions should involve emotion. They should directly focus on how you want to feel in a given area of your life, or at least implied in the question.

For example, you don’t want to ask questions like this:

• “Why do I have more money than Elon Musk?”
• “Why am I driving around in a Bentley?”
• “Why do I live in a mansion overlooking the Almalfi Coast?”

Instead, your lofty questions should be something like these:

• “Why am I always surrounded by love and kindness?”
• “Why is my life filled with avalanches of abundance?”
• “Why is doing my work so effortless and blissful?”

Do you see the difference?

Focus on states of being and emotion instead of material things and specific outcomes.

Try using “always” and “so” as much as possible to capture and heighten emotions in your lofty questions. (Why am I always so outgoing and friendly?)

Leave some leeway, and don’t be overly specific.

For example, if your lofty question asks why you’re so happy and having fun while doing your work, don’t tie it to being on a beach with your laptop sipping a Piña Colada.

Avoid insisting on specific details or circumstances.

Instead, leave some room for the Universe and your subconscious mind to fill in the gaps for what is unknown and you are unsure of. Remember, you only know what you know, and there’s much beyond your present awareness.

How and When to Use Lofty Questions

Here are some tips for using lofty questions.

Ask them regularly, if not daily.

Remember, you are reprogramming your subconscious mind — consistency and repetition matter. These questions need enough time to soak within your subconscious.

Make a list and memorize it.

Make a list of 20 of your most important lofty questions, and yes, memorize them! You can start by reading them from your journal every day, but you’ll likely have them down cold in a few weeks. Then ditch the journal.

Make your list holistic and complete.

Yes, focus on specific goals, but ensure you consider every single area of your life: health, career, family, finances, romance, etc.

Take your life vision or mission statement and turn them into lofty questions. If you need help creating a life vision, you can try my GEECS Framework.

Ask them in an alpha state.

Alpha is a brainwave frequency usually during meditation or when you are in a light sleep state.

Lofty questions (or any mind programming technique) work best when you are in this state.

Here are some ideal options of when to ask your lofty questions:

• Within 5–10 minutes after you wake up in the morning.
• Within 5–10 minutes before you fall asleep.
• During your meditation practice.
• While engaging in any practice that increases brain coherence, such as gratitude or loving-kindness.

Don’t just simply repeat them.

Remember, you are asking a question. Ask it like you genuinely want an answer. Be inquisitive.

Most of all, have fun with them.

Download my FREE 5-Senses meditation to help you become more present and practice taking a leadership role with your mind.

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