Introduction to The Right Questions by Debbie Ford
It is often difficult to tell if a book will stand the test of time. I first read The Right Questions by Debbie Ford back in 2006. I first reviewed it in my monthly newsletter, Ambeck Edge. The book is as relevant today as it was back then. Debbie Ford died in February 2013, but her work still lives on. That's what happens when you do important work that matters.
When I first saw The Right Questions: Ten Essential Questions To Guide You To An Extraordinary Life
, I bought it because I know how important it is to ask the right questions to get the answers that you are looking for. I was in a rush so I grabbed the book without reading the back to see what it was about. Because I was in such a rush, I didn't notice the subtitle, all I saw was THE RIGHT QUESTIONS. I think that the book should be titled “How to Make the Right Choices.” Even though the book wasn't what I expected, I still enjoyed it.
The Right Questions: What Are The Ten Questions?
- Will this choice propel me toward an inspiring future or will it keep me stuck in the past?
- Will this choice bring me long-term fulfillment or will it bring me short-term gratification?
- Am I standing in my power or am I trying to please another?
- Am I looking for what's right or am I looking for what's wrong?
- Will this choice add to my life force or will it rob me of my energy?
- Will I use this situation as a catalyst to grow and evolve or will I use it to beat myself up?
- Does this choice empower me or does it disempower me?
- Is this an act of self-love or is it an act of self-sabotage?
- Is this an act of faith or is it an act of fear?
- Am I choosing from my divinity or am I choosing from my humanity?
According to Debbie Ford in The Right Questions: Ten Essential Questions To Guide You To An Extraordinary Life,
“These questions supply you with the wisdom you need to make what was previously unconscious, conscious, so that you can choose with all the power that comes from being fully aware.”
Let's focus on question six, “Will I use this situation as a catalyst to grow and evolve or will I use it to beat myself up?” Ford suggests that every person and situation in our lives is
“behaving in exactly the way we need them to at every moment in time.”
This concept would be difficult for most people to understand and accept. However, she further adds, which I agree with, that we look at the situation with perspective and ask ourselves what can we learn, and how can we use this to evolve. I would ask what opportunities exist in the situation.
Five Great Ideas: The Right Questions by Debbie Ford
The Right Questions: Ten Essential Questions To Guide You To An Extraordinary Life
- The quality of our choices will dictate whether we will struggle in frustration or live an extraordinary life… Choice allows us to pick, to select, to decide between paths. To go right or left. To move forward or backward, be happy or sad, loving or hateful, satisfied or discontent. Choice gives us the power to be successful or unfulfilled, to be good or great, to feel pleasure or pain.
- We are where we are because of repeated unconscious or unhealthy choices that we've made day after day that add up to the reality we find ourselves in. If we want to understand why and how we created our present reality, all we need to do is look at the choices we made in the past… Our futures are determined by the choices we are making at this moment… If we want our lives to be different, all we have to do is make different choices.
- We've all been blessed with free will, which provides us with the power to choose how we react to our experiences in life.
- Faith invites us to believe in something we cannot see, feel, or know. Fear destroys dreams and exterminates possibilities… Our fears cause us to hold on to habits and behaviours that no longer serve us
- The ability to rationalize behaviour that goes against what we truly want might be our biggest curse because it makes us masters at justifying our actions.
Final Thoughts on The Right Questions
How do you anticipate where your “puck” is going to land? I recommend The Right Questions by Debbie Ford because there is something in it for everyone.
Debbie Ford Books
The Dark Side of the Light Chasers
The Secret of the ShadowThe Best Year of Your LifeWhy Good People Do Bad ThingsThe Right QuestionsThe 21-Day Consciousness CleanseYour HolinessSpiritual DivorceCourageThe Shadow Effect
The book review first appeared in Ambeck Edge June 2006
[Related Post: The Choice by Nicholas Sparks, Book Review]
Note: First published in Ambeck Edge in June 2006. If you click on a link and buy something from Amazon, the organization will pay me a small commission!
