I don’t know about you, but it’s pretty easy for me to get caught up in the “what if” spiral.

What if I make a mistake?

What if they don’t like me?

What if I end up looking like a total idiot?

What if I say the wrong thing?

What if I don’t have enough experience/smarts/skill/know-how/education?

What if they say no?

What if (gulp) I really, completely, utterly BOMB?

Man, those “what ifs” have some teeth, don’t they? It’s like having your own personal Top Ten play list by the hit group The Worrywarts, playing on endless shuffle. I should know. I’ve got the whole playlist, AND all the remix versions by unknown artists, all swimming around in my brain from time to time.

And those “what ifs” can take you down a useless rabbit trail that can keep you stuck, stuck, stuck—because there really aren’t very empowering answers to any of those questions.

Can you relate? Nah, I didn’t think so.

It’s said that if you want to get better answers, ask better questions.

If you want to feel more empowered and courageous and gutsy, you might try shifting the kinds of questions you’re pondering.

What if you took “what if” and started using it to ask better questions?

So:

What if you are just right, exactly as you are?

What if you don’t need fixing, changing, or improvement—what does that open up for you?

What if you have all the skill, talent, experience, smarts and so forth that you need—what’s calling you?

What if you have exactly the right thing to say that someone truly wants to hear?

What if you start RIGHT NOW, with what you have in this moment?

What if you give it a shot and it works?

What if you take a risk and it’s a raging success?

What if all that is required of you is to take one small (or big) powerful step at a time—what will you do next? And then what?

Better questions, I think. Are you getting different answers?

Leave your comments below—I always love to hear from you.

PS The 28 Day Gutsy Life Challenge begins in two weeks, and if you could use a nudge (or push, or kick in the butt) to live a gutsier life, I suggest you join in the fun! Get yourself signed up, won’t you? See you there!