If you are honest with yourself, these questions can change your life.
Benjamin Franklin started and ended each day with the question, “What good will you do today?” In the morning and in the evening. at night.
Many great thinkers believed in the importance of questioning everything.
Albert Einstein would be proud to have said it:
Learn from the past, live in the present, and hope for tomorrow. It is important to never stop asking questions.
It is not easy to get used to reflecting. We often avoid asking difficult questions. Reflective thinking is about overcoming our tendency to accept things as they are and being willing to suffer mental discomfort.
It is worth the effort to endure this discomfort, because it can help us gain confidence to achieve better results in work and our daily lives.
Here are nine daily questions that you can ask yourself to jumpstart your self-reflection practice.
Steve Jobs, the then-Apple CEO, told Stanford University’s graduating class in 2005 that he had been staring into his own eyes for 33 years after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Every morning, he would look in the mirror and ask himself: “If this were the last day I have left to live, would I choose to do what is being done today?”
He knew that if he got a “No” answer for too many days, he had to do something about it.
To make important decisions in my life, the most important tool is to remember that I will soon die. All of those things, including all external expectations, pride, fear, embarrassment, or failure, disappear when you die. It leaves only the truly important, the “explained Jobs.” The best way to avoid falling into the trap of believing you have something to gain is to remember that you will die. You are already naked. You are already naked.
This question will reveal your hidden thoughts about who you really are.
You can change the way that you perceive yourself in different situations to make a difference in your actions and ultimately, who you are.
Gary Vaynerchuk, CEO of VaynerMedia and co-founder, says that this question is key to love your job.
He explains that many people hate their jobs because they don’t know what they are passionate about. They are good at certain things so they do that here and there. But they don’t know what it is that they want to do for the rest of their lives.”
He also advised, “Stop doing what you don’t like.” Find your strengths and discover your passion.
Happiness is not easy. It requires effort and understanding of what you are willing to fight for.
Your success depends on your desire to have fun. What pain are you willing to suffer? Your life’s quality is not determined only by your positive experiences but also the quality and quantity of your negative ones. Being able to deal with negative experiences is a key part of living well.
You can think back to a time when you have successfully changed your behavior and you might be able to start a new habit.
Ask yourself, “What was different than today?” This can help you identify the factors that helped you change your behavior so you can do the same in the future.
You will be more successful if you are able to organize yourself well.
Michael Hopkins, a Quora user, writes: “It may sound silly, but it all started after I saw an episode on ‘TheTick,’ where Tick travels within his mind to find the answer to one question. Asking “How are you?” will help you find your inner self.
“I have learned a profound lesson: Inside each of us lies the most fundamental, true and important question. It opens you up to many inner conversations that will help you be more in touch with yourself every day.
People can worry about the insignificant things, and they don’t feel happy until they accomplish them the way they want. This question can be a reminder to all of us not take life too seriously and can help put things into perspective.
Francesca Gino, a Harvard Business School professor, and her colleagues asked employees to write for 15 minutes about their day. They found that they had a 22.8% return on their investment. This was higher than the return of those who didn’t reflect on their workday.
It is worth noting that study participants wrote down their thoughts below. Gino emphasizes that it is easy to make mistakes if you think only about it. However, if you actually write it down, it is much easier to see what is valuable.
The average of five people with whom we spend most time is ours. Consider the people you have in your life. Do the people you are closest to helping you become a better person? Are you spending time with people who aren’t respectful of your time and won’t respect yours? Do you find yourself surrounded by people who are negative, irritable, and just plain complain that you can’t understand why they don’t make you feel happy or energetic around you?
You should be selective about the people you choose to keep in your circle of friends. You should surround yourself with people who share your interests, your values, what is important to you personally, and how you value friendship, time, knowledge, and money.