Questions are a powerful tool. They can help you identify a problem and find a solution. But you need to find the right question to ask at just the right time.
Here are five questions you have to use to help yourself to better and discover new truths about who you are, what you want, and how you can improve.
1. When something unexpected happens, ask yourself what it’s trying to tell you?
The first question that can help you is one that allows you to turn unexpected things to your advantage. It is the question of trying to frame this new thing in a constructive way.
What is it trying to tell you? What lesson can you learn from this? That can help you understand why the situation is happening and construct a meaning that makes sense for you.
Everything can have serve as a way to learn and improve, but you have to make the meaning yourself. What is an important lesson? What is something that has been missing from your life? What is a matter that has you concerned? These matters will help you recognize opportunities and learning experiences even in situations that seem frightening or complicated or unexpected.
2. When taking risks, ask yourself: what is the worst that can happen?
Risks are useful. They can take us beyond our comfort zone and allow us to grow and challenge who we are and what we can do. But it’s not always easy to give ourselves permission to take a risk.
A question that can help define reasonable risks and helo us get motivated is considering the worst case scenario. What is the worst possible outcome? What could I lose? What is on the line here?
Very often, the answer will be nothing of consequence. Often, the worst thing we risk is getting no for an answer or giving some time to a cause that doesn’t pan out. Other times, the risks might be too big, so we will choose to withdraw. But it is always important to measure the risks and feel less stressed in most cases when they turn out to be truly low.
3. When you feel lost, ask yourself what is the one thing you want most in life?
There are times when we feel confused and lost. Here, what can help is to question what is the one thing we truly want. This allows us to reconnect with a deeper motivation and remember what truly matters.
When we consider what is the thing we value above all, we are able to better set our priorities and explore what is important and what can be put on the back burner for now.
Even if we work our hardest, we cannot accomplish everything. Instead, we are better off focusing our efforts on what truly matters. So, ask yourself often what that thing is and don’t let it slip your mind. This is the best way to avoid regrets later in life.
4. When you feel overwhelmed, ask yourself what is your top priority at the moment?
There are often situations and times when we feel completely swamped. It seems that everything is happening at once. In order to deal with these situations, one helpful question is to consider what is the top priority at the time.
This might change from time to time, so it is useful to revisit the question. Ask yourself what you want to focus on at the time. Maybe it’s work or even a more specific set of tasks, maybe it’s personal development, maybe it’s your relationships. There is no wrong answer.
Asking yourself about the priorities will help you decide what to focus your limited time and energy on. Later, you can pursue other things as well.
5. When you feel dissatisfied, ask yourself what are the best things in your life?
Sometimes, we all feel upset, like what we have achieved is not enough. One way of dealing with this is through remembering all the good things and relationships we have.
It is very easy to take things for granted, but taking some time to appreciate them can make us renew our feelings of gratitude. It will likely make us feel better and happier and more in the present. So, let this question be a frequent companion for any time when you worry about not having enough.
