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PROGRAM D-8184
Maybe you are job hunting right now, looking for a raise, or anticipating a promotion. If so, you really need to know how to ask, because the way you ask will, in large part, determine your success. The way you ask will be controlled by the questions you ask yourself.
For example, do you ask yourself, “What’s wrong with me? Why am I not able to find a job?” Those kinds of questions will simply discourage you. You’re telling yourself negatives that affect the way you behave. Are you thinking: I’m too old, or I’m overqualified, or I’m just not aggressive enough? That kind of thinking just provides you with an excuse for why you’re not getting the answers you want.
Instead, ask, “What can I do to make a better impression on an interview?” Or, “How can I show that my age is an asset and not a liability?” Now you’re asking yourself questions that can lead to positive results. These are constructive questions, not destructive ones.
If you want to ask better questions, begin by examining the questions you are asking yourself. Be ready to change the way you’ve been thinking. Once again, I’m reminded that everything begins in our thought lives. If you think wrongly, you ask wrongly. If you think according to Philippians 4:8—thoughts that are true, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy—that kind of thinking will lead you to positive, constructive questions. And that certainly includes the questions you ask yourself!
I find that I must be intentional about choosing good questions to ask myself—questions that will help me rather than discourage me. I have to bring those questions, those thoughts, into captivity and make them obedient to Christ, as we read in 2 Corinthians 10:5.
Think about the questions you ask yourself: Are they constructive or destructive? Asking right questions begins with right thinking.