What is an afformation? No, that’s not a typo. Noah St. John created a new dimension of positive thinking to describe the process of creating and asking empowering questions. Questions compel us to seek answers. By changing the negative questions we ask ourselves into positive ones, we empower ourselves!

Are you one of those people going through life asking yourself disempowering questions without realizing it? And then wondering why you’re not getting the results you dream of? Let’s take a look at the disempowering questions you’re unconsciously asking yourself right now. Then we’ll learn how to consciously turn those disempowering questions into Afformations^®, my term for questions which empower.

What are disempowering questions? They’re questions that do precisely that: they disempower you and effectively take away your power to act, by focusing your mind on what you don’t have, what you can’t do, and who you are not.

Questions like, Why am I so broke? Why doesn’t anyone love me? How come I never have enough money? Why am I so fat? and Why can’t I lose weight? are examples of disempowering questions, because they cause you to believe you can’t do the things you want to do in life.

Disempowering questions take away your power to act.

Of course, no one goes around asking these negative questions on purpose. But you may be unconsciously asking disempowering questions like these without even realizing it.

That’s why I’d like you to try something right now. I want you to say these common disempowering questions out loud, and see how you feel as a result. Ready?

• Why don’t I have enough money?
• Why am I so lonely?
• Why am I such a loser?
• Why am I so fat?
• Why am I so broke?
• Why do I never get the breaks that other people get?
• Why can’t I do anything right?

Did you do it? When you consciously ask disempowering questions, say them out loud, or even think them, it doesn’t feel very good, does it?

As I explain in my seminars and mastermind programs, each of us is carrying around what I call a Negative Reflection in our subconscious mind—that negative inner voice that tells us we can’t do anything right. The Negative Reflection always asks negative or disempowering questions like the ones listed above.

The ultimate result of them is that you manifest what you focus on. In other words, when you ask yourself negative questions, you get negative results.

Create an Afformations Journal for yourself and write the five most disempowering questions that your Negative Reflection asks you on a regular basis.

Yes, I mean right now.

These disempowering questions may have come from someone in your past, or perhaps you made them up on your own. Either way, it’s vital that you know exactly what your own disempowering questions are so you can begin to turn them around. (Please write today’s date next to the disempowering questions you write, because when you come back to your notes later, you’ll see just how far you’ve come once you’ve been using The Afformations Method^®, even for a very short time.)

Please do this right now. I’ll be right here when you get back.

Whew. Pretty bad, aren’t they?

Are you ready to find a better way?

Empowering Questions—the Right Questions to Ask

Now that you’ve identified the disempowering questions you’ve been unconsciously asking, you’re probably asking another question right now: “Okay, if those are the disempowering questions I’ve been asking, what are empowering questions—and how can I start asking those instead?”

I’m glad you asked!

Empowering questions are those that have precisely the opposite effect of their negative counterparts. While disempowering questions focus your mind on what you don’t have, can’t do, and are not—and therefore take away your power to act—empowering questions focus your mind what you have, what you can do, and who you are.

Empowering questions unleash your ability to take action and express Who You Really Are.

The answers to empowering questions produce feelings of positive self-worth and ultimately lead to answers that tell the truth about Who You Really Are.

Let’s try something fun right now. I want you to change the five disempowering questions you just wrote into empowering questions. How do you do this? Simply reverse the negative question into a positive!

For example, let’s say one of the disempowering questions you wrote was: How come I never get the breaks other people get?

Your empowering question might be: Why am I so lucky?

Or if one of the disempowering questions you wrote was: Why am I so fat?

Your empowering question could be: Why is it so easy for me to lose weight?

Got it? Grab your pen and change your five disempowering questions into empowering questions in your Afformations^® Journal. Are you ready to experience the Afformations difference? Go for it!

Pretty cool, huh? Did you notice something shift in your mind? What does it feel like? In your Afformations Journal right now, write the difference you feel from doing the first exercise to doing the second one.

Congratulations! You’ve just begun an amazing journey to your new abundant lifestyle.