--- title: Question for Self-Improvement: What If? description: These two little words can make a big difference in your career and relationships canonical: https://time.com/4117433/powerful-vocabulary/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-03-09T15:00:33.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T09:01:42.033Z og:title: The Most Powerful Question You Can Ask Yourself og:description: These two little words can make a big difference in your career and your relationships og:url: https://time.com/4117433/powerful-vocabulary/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9c4aedca770e9220/69887b48a988ca43b46b65ba/confusion-3-question-mark-mental-health-self-betterment.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4350 og:image:height: 2447 og:image:alt: confusion-3-question-mark-mental-health-self-betterment-motto-stock og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Most Powerful Question You Can Ask Yourself twitter:description: These two little words can make a big difference in your career and your relationships twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9c4aedca770e9220/69887b48a988ca43b46b65ba/confusion-3-question-mark-mental-health-self-betterment.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Most Powerful Question You Can Ask Yourself > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Worth Your Time: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Worth Your Time is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. A weekly guide to what to watch, read, and more. Worth Your Time is a curated guide to the culture worth knowing, from the biggest conversations of the moment to the books, shows, ideas and discoveries worth your attention. Culture editor Eliza Berman taps TIME's collective taste and perspective to surface what is worth watching, reading, talking about and sharing, and why. It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-worth-2026q3/newsletters?i=f1cc0832-32d0-44cb-8284-594bf02d68d5&cr=time-nl-worth-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Tuesday and Saturday (2x per week) | TIME, August 2026 | | Subscribers | 40,000 | TIME, August 2026 | | Open rate | 31.7% | TIME, August 2026 | | Written by | Eliza Berman, Culture Editor | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership Culturally curious consumers. 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Readers select it, along with any of TIME's other newsletters, at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-worth-2026q3/newsletters?i=f1cc0832-32d0-44cb-8284-594bf02d68d5&cr=time-nl-worth-2026q3-v1). * TIME's newsletter network reaches more than 1.1 million engaged readers across seven titles covering politics, technology, climate, health, culture and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-worth-2026q3/subscribe?i=f1cc0832-32d0-44cb-8284-594bf02d68d5&cr=time-nl-worth-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What should I watch or read, according to TIME? Worth Your Time is TIME's culture recommendation newsletter, edited by culture editor Eliza Berman. Twice a week it surfaces the books, shows, films and ideas TIME's editors think are worth your attention, and explains why. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Does TIME have a culture newsletter? Yes. Worth Your Time is TIME's culture newsletter, published Tuesdays and Saturdays to 40,000 subscribers as of August 2026. #### Who writes TIME's culture recommendations? Culture editor Eliza Berman writes Worth Your Time, drawing on TIME's critics and culture desk. #### Is Worth Your Time free? Yes. It is a free newsletter available at time.com/newsletters. by [Martina E. Faulkner](https://time.com/author/martina-e-faulkner-lmsw/) ## Martina E. Faulkner Mar 9, 2016 3:00 PM UTC  Peechaya Burroughs for TIME by [Martina E. Faulkner](https://time.com/author/martina-e-faulkner-lmsw/) ## Martina E. Faulkner Mar 9, 2016 3:00 PM UTC My book, [_What if: How To Create The Life You Want Using The Power of Possibility_](http://www.amazon.com/What-If-Create-Using-Possibility/dp/0996366806?tag=timecom-20)_,_ started as a nagging idea while I was finishing up my graduate degree in social work. As I worked with clients, I knew that I wanted to blend my certifications in coaching and reiki (a touch-based healing technique) with my degree as a psychotherapist. On the one hand, I wanted to help them explore everything that’s possible—their dreams, their desires and their hopes. On the other hand, I also wanted to assist them in unpacking and exploring their past and the reasons why they found themselves where they were when they came to me. “What if..?” was a question that could be used in both instances, and I heard myself doing just that. _“What if_ _you hadn’t….?”_ _“What if_ _you could….?”_ _“What if_ _you weren’t/didn’t or were/did…?”_ As I continued using it more deliberately in client sessions, I started to really understand the power behind these two little words. Fast-forward many months, and “What if..?” started to play a bigger role in my own life. What if I wrote the book? What if I published it? It took one final nudge for me to sit down and start typing. A trusted teacher and advisor asked me to say, “What if…?” and follow it up with whatever I could think of—beyond what I even thought I desired. It was as if my book was trying to write itself (which it sort of did). Time and time again, the phrase popped into my head or was somewhere in my environment. **_Read more:_** [_10 Life Lessons to Excel in Your 30s_](http://motto.time.com/4245412/life-lessons-to-excel/) You know when you hear something over and over again and, although you’re hearing it, you’re not _actually_ hearing it? Then, one day, someone or something comes along and says it again, and it’s like, “Boom!” there it is in the forefront of your being? “What if..?” is a simple little phrase that belies its greatness. It is an incredibly powerful tool that can be used to manifest the greatest joys or undermine even the most assured confidence. It all depends on how you use it. _Martina E. Faulkner is a life coach and author of the book_ [What if: How To Create The Life You Want Using The Power of Possibility](http://www.amazon.com/What-If-Create-Using-Possibility/dp/0996366806?tag=timecom-20). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4117433/powerful-vocabulary/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4117433/powerful-vocabulary/"},"headline":"The Most Powerful Question You Can Ask Yourself","datePublished":"2016-03-09T15:00:33.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T09:01:42.033Z","description":"These two little words can make a big difference in your career and your relationships","url":"https://time.com/4117433/powerful-vocabulary/","keywords":["motto","Books","advice","career"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9c4aedca770e9220/69887b48a988ca43b46b65ba/confusion-3-question-mark-mental-health-self-betterment.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Martina E. 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