9 Life-Changing Questions to Ask Yourself
1. WHERE DO I WANT TO BE IN THE NEXT FIVE?
While it is impossible to predict where your life will be five years down the line, it is important to have a plan of where you want to be in that time. Asking yourself this question allows you to set goals about what you want to achieve in your life.
Having clear goals allows you to concentrate your efforts on activities that move you forward in life. Your goals give you the motivation you need to create the best life for yourself. Goals help you align your decisions with your desired life and notice when you are going adrift.
Asking yourself this question will prompt you to decide what you want to achieve in your life. Your answer to this question should encompass all areas of life. Don’t just focus on your career or material achievements. You should have goals for your career, your financial wellbeing, education, family, health, pleasure, and so on.
2. WHERE WILL MY LIFE BE IN FIVE YEARS IF I CONTINUE DOING WHAT I AM DOING TODAY?
Fortunately, many of us already have visions of where we want to be in future, whether that is the next one year, the next 5 years or the next 10 years. Unfortunately, many of us spend time doing things that do not help us move closer to our goals.
Remember, your future life is dependent on the things you do today. If your dream is to be fit within the next one year, you will not get there if you keep eating junk foods and avoiding the gym.
Asking yourself this question helps you identify the things in your life today that are wasting your time. Most importantly, it helps you stop procrastinating things that you know you need to do.
If there are people who are holding you back from going for your dreams, you need to cut them off, today. Otherwise, if you keep doing the kind of things you have been doing before, you will continue living the same kind of life you have been living before.
Like Einstein once said, insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.
3. WHAT IS MY WHY?
This question is important because it helps you identify why you are going after your dreams. If one of your goals is to lose some weight, why exactly do you want to lose weight? Your “why” is a deep-seated reason behind your goals. Without knowing the “why” behind your goals, dreams and aspirations, you minimize your chances of achieving your goals. The truth is, achieving your goals is not going to be easy. You will face challenges that will make you feel like quitting. Without a clear picture of why you are going for that goal, it becomes easy to quit when the tough gets going. Knowing your why also helps you make the tough decisions concerning your goals. A strong enough why will give you the fortitude to figure out the “what” and the “how” of achieving your dreams.
4. WHAT AM I GRATEFUL FOR?
In this life, we are constantly trying to make more money, achieve more and improve ourselves that we often take for granted what we have going for us at the moment. However, it is important to take a step back and be grateful for what we have.
Being grateful does not mean that we should get complacent and stop trying to improve our lives. Instead, it means that we should count our blessings and appreciate the kind of lives we have today.
Gratitude is one of the keys to a truly happy life. Actually, research shows people who practice gratitude tend to have better confidence, better sleep and better moods. Being grateful will also lower your chances of experiencing stress and anxiety.
Before you start worrying about a new car, a bigger house or a better job, take a moment to be grateful for the car, the house or the job you have now.
5. DO I WORRY TOO MUCH ABOUT WHAT OTHERS THINK?
Human beings are social creatures, and the need to be accepted by others is a normal part of being human. This explains why each of us feels the need to act according to Society’s expectations.
Worrying too much about what others will think about you and trying to do what everyone expects of you can hinder your ability to think for yourself and make your own decisions. Instead of making your decisions based on what you want for yourself, your decisions will be based on what you think others consider to be right.
Asking yourself this question will help you determine if you are doing things because you think they are the right thing to do or because you are afraid of being judged.
6. WHAT DO I WANT PEOPLE TO SAY ABOUT ME AT MY FUNERAL?
Thinking about your own death is not a very pleasant exercise. However, death also has a way of helping us identify the most important things in our lives. The truth is that everyone will die, including you. What would you want people to say about you during your funeral? Would you rather they talk about the expensive car you drove and your big mansion, or about how you made them feel? Would you want your children to talk about how great a dad you were, or how you never saw you because you were always in the office?
Asking yourself this question will make you realize that there is more to life than chasing material things. Building good relationships with people and having a great character is what will matter in the end. People are going to remember you for how you made them feel, for living a life of love and kindness.
Asking yourself this question reminds you that you should not focus on pursuing success and riches at the expense of relationships and good character.
7. WHAT WOULD I DO IF I WASN’T AFRAID OF ANYTHING?
This is a question that only few people contemplate, yet it can have a very profound impact on your life. You keep your feelings to yourself because you are afraid you will be rejected by your crush. You stay at a dead end job because you are afraid you will fail if you quit to start your business. What if you were not afraid? How much would you achieve? What exactly would you do if failure was not in the picture?
Pondering on this question helps you to identify the things that truly matter to you. The answers to this question are the things you should step up and do. In most cases, the fears holding you back are usually irrational, and you can easily overcome them.
If your fear is keeping you from moving from your hometown, go ahead and do it. If your fear is keeping you from trying your hand at being a singer, go ahead and give it a try. In the end, when your life is nearing its end, you won’t care about the things that you tried and failed at.
Instead, you will regret the opportunities you missed due to fear. Do not let your fears hold you back. Instead, face your fears and your life will become limitless.
8. WHY NOT?
From when we were children, we have been brainwashed by society that we need to follow the rules and live a certain way. That we need to fit in, keep our heads down and play it safe.
However, following this path often leads to an average life. Sometimes, you need to go beyond the confines of tradition and stop playing it safe.
Don’t just accept everything as it is. If someone tells you that something cannot be done, ask them why not. If someone says that you cannot achieve your dreams, ask yourself why not?
Don’t accept the limitations people put on you. Instead, you should challenge the status quo and go for what others think is impossible.
If you look at some of the greatest people to have lived, most of them have looked at things that seemed undoable and asked themselves “why not?”
9. IS MY SOCIAL CIRCLE INFLUENCING MY LIFE POSITIVELY?
Like Jim Rohn once said, you are the average of the 5 people you spend most of your time with. The circle of friends you keep around you influences your mindset, your behavior and your habits.
Want to be successful? Hang out with successful people.
Want to be confident? Hang out with confident people.
Want to be happy? Hang out with happy people.
According to this study published in Psychology Today, people with low self-control can improve their self-control by surrounding themselves with strong willed friends.
Asking yourself this question allows you to evaluate the social circle you surround yourself with. Are they people that challenge and encourage you to be a better version of yourself? Are they people that are dragging you down with negativity and mediocrity? Letting go of your friends can be a hard thing to do.
If you are constantly surrounded by people who have no aspirations, you will eventually become complacent in your life because that is the normal kind of life in your social circle.
However, if everyone in your circle is constantly working to better themselves, you will be challenged to better yourself if you want to remain within the same circle.
