Blame, procrastination, self-victimizationthis terrible trifecta can sink your career and limit your levels of personal success.

We often find ourselves resorting to bad patterns, especially in the workplace.

I have noticed one place in my own life where these traits are nowhere to be seen.

While I play video games.

I remember a very early breakthrough for me happened while playingMega Man 2on the NES.

I found myself stuck on one stage, unable to advance.

Eventually I figured things outand felt great satisfaction in the accomplishment.

Lessons From Unlikely Places

Sometimes lessons are learned the hard way.

Hes right, you know.

We often need to solve problems with experimentation and by learning from our mistakes.

Any number of innocent or random things can end a game with precious little warning.

That mutant crab might get you the first ten tries, but you might make it on the eleventh.

This principle applies to our lives as well.

In the professional world no one is really interested in excuses, only results.

Intentions dont matter as much as where we end up.

Intentions do not insulate us from the consequences of our actions.

I had totake the situation into my own hands.

I noticed then when I played video games rather than asking why cant I do this?

I asked myself how can I do this?

Here is a crash course on asking better questions, using the QBQ!

Use the personal pronoun I (not them, they, [insert other persons name]).

Focus on a specific action.

While it sounds incredibly simple, it is not the default approach of many individuals.

For quite some time I struggled with poor questions and thought processes that led me into a frustrating place.

While subtle in structure, it is life changing in practice.

Ask yourself better questions.

After all, I can only control me and my actions.

Image bychuckchee(Shutterstock),Oddworld Inhabitants,Wikitroid.

Want to see your work on Lifehacker?