Achieving anything needs personal power which comes by increasing your awareness, as we saw previously in this Change my Life series #6. So how do you become more aware?

Start Noticing
Start by noticing more. The more you notice, the more you realize there is to notice. As the brilliant Nobelist Albert Einstein observed, "the more we know, the more existence turns out to be mysterious. The more we know, the less we know and the more we become aware of the vastness."

Awareness describes an area that you don't yet know about. Whereas clarity is subtly different, it's an area about which you are already aware, but are not yet clear of the important distinctions.

For example, I was aware of the two types of verbs: transitive and intransitive. But until I looked them up, and got some experience using both, I had no clarity on the difference. If you don't even know about these two, you're unaware.

Ask Questions about what you Notice
When you notice something new, start by asking yourself questions. There are seven great interrogative adverbs and pronouns: what, when, how, why, who, where, which.

It's been said that the key to change your life is not just the quality of the questions you ask, but also the quality of your answers!

Investigate the Answers
Check out the answers you come up with, some will be more reliable than others. Don't self sabotage by believing what others say, check it out for yourself. Your own mental effort is essential to thinking successfully. It doesn't work to delegate your thinking, just as you don't get physically fit by delegating your exercise.

Yet many people go through life avoiding the effort of thinking for themselves. The educational system often seems to teach what to think rather than how to think. So you have a good excuse, but if you want the benefits of thinking creatively then you'll have to think for yourself. If you've been taught what to think rather than learning how to think, check this teacher's letter out - it's rather alarming!

Don't Believe in Believing
Thinking creatively can be viewed as tiring work. And if you're not used to it, it can be. But would you rather delegate your thinking? Whatever you do, you'll face the consequences, and you don't want to suffer!

Is the person telling you what to believe on your side? They may pretend they are, but even honest people put their own best interests ahead of yours. Politicians are professionally trained in manipulation and sophism, making even the most ridiculous ideas seem desirable. Ask yourself how believing someone will help them achieve their goals. Will it realistically help you achieve yours? If so, how?

The distinctions worth investigating depend on what you wish to achieve. Once again, clarity on your goals is important.

Don't self sabotage by just believing anybody, even what you are reading here! This is totally sincere, but discover the many benefits of creatively thinking for yourself, investigate the answers to your own questions!

When thinking for yourself, look for breakthroughs, aha moments in which you see how these general principles can change your life. Such creative thinking improves your awareness and clarity about how life works, which increases your personal power.

© Copyright worldwide Cris Baker, www.LifeStrategies.net All rights reserved. Republishing welcomed under Creative Commons noncommercial no derivatives license preserving all links intact, so please +1 and share this widely!

Food for Thought
"Quality questions create a quality life. Successful people ask better questions, and as a result, they get better answers."

- Anthony Robbins, American author, NLP guru, motivational speaker, fire-walk expert.

Author's Bio: 

Cris Baker has much practice in overcoming adversity, he's been screwing things up for years! Why suffer the consequences of your own mistakes? Now you can benefit from real knowledge, crucial know-how gained from his vast experience with extensive pain and suffering!

You'll find enormous joy in overcoming your self sabotage; check out the many secrets of success at Life Strategies and discover how to change your life!