Level of Questions and Afformations

Asking yourself questions can be a powerful way to motivate yourself to achieve your goals. Nevertheless, all questions are not created equally. So it is important to ask yourself the right questions. But what are the right questions?

According to the founder of Afformations Noah St. John, the right questions are questions that are positive rather than negative. Also, they're questions phrased in the present tense. To add to this, I think that it's better to ask deep level three questions - questions that ask why.

For example, if you want to be rich, you can ask yourself "Why am I so rich?" If you want to be healthy, you can ask yourself "Why am I so healthy?" If you want to be wise, you can ask yourself "Why am I so wise?"

Notice that these questions are very similar to affirmations, except that they are asked in a question form rather than a statement form. Noah St. John would call these questions Afformations.

Noah St. John believed that Afformations are much more powerful than affirmations, because Afformations make you mentally focus on your goals on a much deeper level. Questions make you think more than statements do.

There are basically three levels of questions. They range from superficial questions to deep questions.

Level one questions are the most superficial. They involve asking who, when, and where. These questions are asked to obtain information involving environments, situations, and circumstances. Let's use the assassination of United States President Abraham Lincoln as an example.

When - It took place on Good Friday, April 14, 1865.
Who - It was carried out by the well-known stage actor John Wilkes Booth.
Where - It happened at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C.

Level two questions are a little deeper. They involve asking what and how. These questions are asked to obtain information involving behaviors, actions, and deeds. Let's use the assassination of United States President Abraham Lincoln as an example.

What - John Wilkes Booth murdered President Abraham Lincoln.
How - Booth opened the door which granted entry to the President's theater box seat, crept forward with his handgun and shot the President in the back of the head, behind his left ear at point blank range.

Level three questions are deeper yet. They involve asking why. These questions are asked to obtain information involving thoughts, beliefs, and emotions. Let's use the assassination of United States President Abraham Lincoln as an example.

Why - John Wilkes Booth believed and felt that his actions would revive the Confederate cause.

By asking yourself level three questions regarding achieving your goals, you're motivating yourself by thinking about your thoughts, beliefs, and emotions. This is much more powerful than asking yourself level two questions, which only motivates you by making you think about your behaviors, actions, and deeds.

The weakest way to motivate yourself would be to ask yourself level one questions, which only motivates you by making you think about your environments, situations, and circumstances.

Do you want to be successful? Yes? Then go ahead and ask yourself the following question several times daily: "Why am I so successful?"