The goal of the 3 Question Mantra is to bring consciousness to the subconscious choices you make daily so that you can make intentional and actionable choices that better serve your goals. As busy people, it’s easy to lose sight of your goals while living your day-to-day life. The questions outlined below are designed to bring relevancy to your goals so that you can actively work towards the future you want.
The first step in identifying your questions is to identify a goal you have for yourself. This goal can be anything you want to work towards, such as being more present in your daily life, eating healthier, or being kinder to your family. It is important that this goal be something that is actively relevant to you, so that when you answer these questions daily, your response reflects that commitment to change more often than it doesn’t.
Question 1: “Do I want to [insert goal]? Or Do I not want to [insert goal]?”
Examples: “Do I want to be in flow? Or Do I not want to be in flow?”
“Do I want to be present? Or Do I not want to be present?”
“Do I want to eat healthier? Or Do I not want to eat healthier?”
Pick a goal that is relevant to you and insert it into the [insert goal] brackets. Feel free to make slight changes to the question so it flows authentically. Say the question to yourself a few times. Can you imagine yourself asking that question daily? Making sure the question is relevant to you is important. If you notice you are answering “no” to the question more often than you are answering “yes”, it may be good to change your goal. It is also important to be fair with yourself though, so answering “no” to your goal on days where you aren’t feeling your best is totally okay. If your answer to the question is yes, you move on to the second question.
Question 2: “Do I choose to [insert goal] right now? or Do I choose to not [insert goal] right now?”
Examples: “Do I choose to be in flow right now? or Do I choose to not be in flow right now?”
“Do I choose to be present right now? or Do I choose to not be present right now?”
“Do I choose to eat healthier right now? or Do I choose to not eat healthier right now?”
The important words from that question are Choose, and Now. It brings consciousness to a decision that you would be making subconsciously anyway. By bringing consciousness to that choice you are better able to recognize habits, as well as create an intentional shift when you choose to. Bringing consciousness to the now, pushes you to be present in the moment and to hold yourself accountable. If the answer to this question is yes, you move to the third question.
Question 3: “What action do I need to take right now?”
This question gives you an actionable next step that will bring you closer to your goal. This action can also be the lack of an action in certain situations. If your goal is to remove things from your life that no longer serve you, then your action might reflect that. In the context of eating healthier, the action could be to avoid unhealthy food, or more specifically not to eat a piece of cake or bag of chips. The action should be directly relevant to what you are currently doing.
The great thing about these questions is they can be applied to many goals throughout your day. It brings a higher level of presence and intentionality to your choices and actions that may be easy to lose sight of. If you would like to see this process in action, please check out our blog 3 Question Mantra - Habit Change Workshop as well as the corresponding video that can help you in your habit change journey.