14 Feb What are the most important questions to answer in your life?

For most of our lives, we concentrate on answers. Whether at school, work, or other areas of life, we’re taught to focus on finding the right answers. But the truth is, questions can be just as, if not more important.

Great minds, from Voltaire to Google’s former CEO, Eric Schmidt, have observed that what matters most is asking questions, especially the right ones. This process provides unique learning experiences.

Some may view the task of pausing and questioning yourself as a sign of weakness or selfishness. But we must begin somewhere. And as Jurg Widmer points out, what better place to start your learning journey than by gaining a deeper understanding of yourself?

Learning is a personal journey. No one can tell you precisely what you must do to enhance your self-awareness. However, we can suggest queries to help you re-examine your thoughts, feelings, and actions. By using these, you will be able to determine your path, make the improvements you desire, and be happier.

Why should you ask more questions?

It’s easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of daily life. Unfortunately, this also means that life can pass us by without us ever stopping to question if we are happy or if things are going the way we want. Devoting time to introspection can be challenging, and you might find some questions uncomfortable and want to avoid them. But the best things in life are rarely easy.

Learning how to question yourself

Very few people stop to ask questions on a daily or even monthly basis. Most of us are caught in a survival-led attitude. We must work, pay bills, care for our health, look after our families, and many other day-to-day things. Staying on top of these musts often keeps us so busy that we don’t allow ourselves the time to stop and think.

But frequently asking and re-evaluating can help us find a path towards greater happiness and success. It’s easier to take a more reflective approach if we interrupt our standard thought patterns. Questions allow us to discover more about ourselves and encourage greater honesty with our feelings.

You can form, ask, and answer questions in your mind, but this might not be the most effective way of doing things. Many people find journaling helps them organise their thoughts. You could even use the notes app on your phone, so you’ve always got easy access to your selected questions.

Of course, not everyone finds writing useful for processing thoughts. Instead, you might prefer to talk. Whether you talk to friends, family, a therapist, or just out loud to yourself, the process of talking can be invaluable in helping us work through our thoughts and feelings.

It’s worth noting that you don’t have to spend hours asking yourself a million and one questions, especially if you already have a few key ones to try.

We’ve gathered some helpful general life, work-based, productivity, and altruistic questions you can ask to develop your perspective and understanding.

Critical life questions

• What’s most important to me?
• Who are the people I care about the most?
• What type of person do I want to be?
  • How do I want my friends or family to see me?
  • How do I see myself? Am I happy with this?

• What are my values?
  • Am I being true to my values?

Everyone has different priorities and values, which tend to change over time. So it can help to check in occasionally to see what matters to us now and if that has changed. For instance, is your family the thing you value most? Perhaps despite being the most important people, you prioritise work over spending time with them. Or maybe you love art but haven’t done anything to indulge in this passion recently. These questions can clarify where to shift your focus to better align with your priorities.

• What am I good at?
• What am I bad at?
• Am I sleeping enough?
• Do I feel happy?
• What stresses me out?

What we’re good at, how much sleep we’re getting, how stressed or happy we feel; these things tend to change regularly, and yet we rarely realise. These questions help us focus on specific things that directly impact our quality of life. For example, maybe you love discovering new things but rarely prioritise this over work commitments. Realising this can help you adjust how you’re spending your time.

• What do I want to learn?
  • Am I learning it?

• What are my main goals?
  • Am I achieving them?

• What scares me?
  • What’s stopping me from achieving the things I want?

• Who do I admire?
  • What do I admire most about them?

Each of these questions is centred on the future. The answers to these questions will likely change as you move through life, so it can help to re-evaluate them.

Questions about work

Whether you’re happy as you are or feel like there’s some area you want to improve, asking questions will help you streamline your goals and desires.

• What type of worker am I?
• What do I want to learn?
• Where do I want to be in my career in 5 years?
• Is my work meaningful?
• How can I improve myself or my work?

You may also want to ask questions more specific to your career, industry, or business if you’re an entrepreneur. For example, you could reassess your customer’s pain points and redesign the ideal solution.

Questions for productivity

• What are my priorities?
• How can I achieve what I want faster?
• What am I procrastinating or avoiding?

So many of us procrastinate or aren’t as productive as we’d like. It’s a perfectly natural human behaviour, but it can be frustrating. Sometimes we need to have an honest conversation with ourselves to combat this tendency.

Altruistic questions

Most of the questions we’ve suggested revolve around your feelings and life. While these are necessary, it’s good to have balance. Just as we can’t always put others first, we should be compassionate.

• How can I help one person today?
• What good deed have I done recently?

Our small decisions and actions can change the world, one person at a time. Helping one person a day may seem like a lot, but good deeds can take many forms, from big to small. Whether opening a door, picking up some trash, or helping out a friend, each action can positively impact our mental well-being and those around us.

Coming up with your questions

You don’t have to use all the questions we’ve listed here. It’s most important you give yourself regular opportunities, whether you want to come up with your own or cherry-pick a handful of these questions.

There’s no one right way to do things. You may want to ask yourself one question a day, working your way down your list, or you could schedule an evening a month to ponder or discuss your questions with a friend. It’s up to you how you tackle things. Asking may be uncomfortable, but it’ll help you get to know yourself and grow.