7 Self-Discovery Questions To Understand Yourself Better

Asking the right questions can be a very powerful way to get to know who you really are, what beliefs and values you hold, and ultimately, get clear about what you truly desire to achieve in life.

“Quality questions create a quality life. Successful people ask better questions, and as a result, they get better answers.”
– Tony Robbins

Like Tony Robbins said, by asking quality questions, we get quality answers. And with better answers, we tend to do things in a much better way that leads us to the success we want in life.

Asking questions are powerful. We do that almost every minute in our heads. We ask ourselves things like “what should I eat”, “what should I do now”, “should I download this game”, “why he thinks this way”, etc.

And when we ask a question in our head, our brain will work accordingly, like Google, to search for the most relevant answers.

In other words, the answers and the results that you get are defined by your questions.

Ask a good question like “what is the one thing that I can do right now so that I can get closer to my goal”, and your brain will work on this question and come up with suggestions.

On the other hand, if you ask a low-quality question like “why does this always happen to me” or “why am I so unlucky”, etc, guess what, your brain will find the answers according to the lousy questions that you asked.

You will then get answers such as “well, because I’m not good enough”, or “I just don’t have what it takes”.

Can you see how the questions you ask can shape your life right now?

This is why when it comes to understanding yourself better and finding out exactly what you want to achieve in life, one of the best ways to start is by asking yourself the right questions.

Many people have no idea what they want to do or what kind of life they want to live. And by asking these 7 self-discovery questions, you are able to see a clearer picture of where you are, what you want to do, and how to get there.

Read:Don’t Know What To Do in Life? Use These 7 Powerful Techniques

However, before you ask these 7 questions, here are some suggestions you should know:

Don’t take these questions lightly. Ask them as seriously as possible because the more serious you are with them, the more clarity you are going to get from your answers.
Spend as much time as you need to answer. Think, imagine, and visualize. You’re not in a competition here. So take your time to really reflect and come up with answers.
Remember, there is no right or wrong answer. It is all about your life and what you want to achieve. More importantly, you don’t have to compare your answers with others.
Ask these questions regularly. Repetition is the mother of all skills. The more you ask, the more you understand yourself, the more you can achieve, and the better you can perform in life.
Write down your answers if need to. Miracles can happen when you write things done. There is a book by Henriette Anne Klauser called Write It Down, Make It Happen. It is a great book about how writing can transform lives. You may want to read it.

Now, once you are ready, here are the 7 self-discovery questions that you should ask to better understand yourself…

Table of Contents

1. Where am I and what am I doing here?

Before you can find out what is your ideal life, you need to know where you are right now.

It is just like a GPS system. You need to tell the system your current location before you can set and go to your destination.

Without knowing where you are right now, how can you craft a good plan to get to where you want to go?

You need a place to start. And your starting point will determine your plan.

For example, if you want to be financially free, you must understand how much it is that you have right now. You need to know if you are in debt and to find out how much money and assets you have.

When you know these numbers, you are able to craft a better plan to achieve the financial goal that you want.

Remember, to get to where you want to go in life, you must first identify your current location.

So, where are you and what are you doing here?

2. What activities or things give me the most joy and satisfaction?

By asking this question, you can tell where your passion lies.

What are the things that give you the most joy and satisfaction? Do you feel joyful when you work? Or is it a certain part of your work that you enjoy doing?

Here’s a good example:

Jay is an engineer and he has been working for his company for about 2 years. He thought that he hates his job, but after doing some deep-questioning, he discovered that he loves the design tasks especially the challenging ones. What he hates is the administrative work.
So Jay found out what he loves and what he dislikes in his work. He then decided to further his studies on design for engineering.
Now that Jay has increased his skills and knowledge in engineering design. His salary doubled and his company assigns him less administrative work so that he can solely focus on the design tasks, which is what he loves doing.

This is why knowing what activities and things give you the most joy and satisfaction can help you in determining what you should do in life.

When you know your passion and the things that give you the most fulfillment, you can then craft your life around them and work toward them.

Read:How To Live Life With Passion And Purpose

So, what activities and things give you the most joy and satisfaction?

3. If everything is perfect and happens according to my plan, how will my life look like in the next 10 years?

In order to find out what your ideal future looks like, you must get rid of all the restraints and limitations.

Thus, ask this question by assuming that everything in your life is perfect and you are going smoothly according to your plan.

To find out what kind of life you truly want to live, you must let your imagination runs wild and truly spend some time thinking about the answer to this question.

Take this question seriously and try to answer it in your head first, and then choose to write down your answers…

So where will you be in the next 10 years?
Are you going to be doing the same thing or are you doing something else?
Will you start your own business?
Where will you be living?
Do you have a family and with how many children?
What car do you drive?
Do you involve in any charity organization?
Which country have you traveled to?
How much are you earning per year?

Let your imagination runs freely and acts as if everything is possible.

And then take a good look at the ideal future that you want. Is it exciting? And are you looking forward to living in this future?

4. Why do I wake up in the morning and what are the things I’m looking forward to?

Have you ever thought about why you wake up each morning? Do you wake up with high energy and motivation? Or are you reluctant to wake up and feel tired most of the time?

If the first thing that comes into your mind when you get up in the morning is the dread to go to work, then perhaps, it means that your purpose in life is not in alignment with your work.

I believe that you won’t feel lethargic and dread going to work every day, but if this is happening very often, then it is a clear sign that you should do something about it, don’t you think?

Highly successful people like Elon Musk are willing to sleep in the factory because he is so committed to working and reaching his targets and dreams.

They are workaholics, but to them, they are just doing what they love. Their work is their play.

And that’s exactly what you need to do – to find out your passion and align your passion with your work.

This is why asking this question is important.

Read:7 Clear Signs That You Have Discovered Your Passion in Life

Thus, spend some time to really reflect on why you wake up each morning. What is the first thought that enters your mind and how do you feel about it?

The answer gives you a hint whether your daily routine is something engaging or something totally turns you off.

So, why do you wake up each morning?

5. What is the one thing I can do today to get closer to my ideal life?

This is another powerful question you should ask yourself each day.

People are lost in distractions and they are feeling stuck because they fail to see the next thing that they can act on right away.

By asking this question, you are giving yourself a clear and specific action that you can actually do to move forward toward your goals.

I strongly suggest you read this book, The One Thing. It is one of the most profound books ever written on the subject of productivity and being effective. You must know what is your One Thing so that by doing it, everything else becomes easier or unnecessary. Get the book and find out what’s your One Thing now.

People live in mediocrity because they are reactive. They wait for things to happen and they wait for instructions.

When they are free, they rather check updates on Facebook, watch funny YouTube videos, or play games on their phone.

On the other hand, highly successful and extraordinary people are proactive. They know what they need to do because they keep asking themselves this question in their head.

And because they know what they need to do, they are always in action. They don’t wait for people to tell them what to do.

When they are free, they take the initiative to do something extra or learn something else to improve their knowledge and skills so that they can get closer to living their ideal life.

They have a plan and they know what they need to do to get there.

So, ask yourself this question every day, “what is the one step that you can do today so that you can get closer to your goals and dreams?”

6. How much do I want to earn per day and what should I do today to earn this amount?

To be honest, I love this question.

There are 2 parts to this question. The first is to know how much you want to earn per day, and the second part is to find out what you need to do to earn this amount.

Most people focus on their earnings per month or per year.

When you ask the majority of people out there, they will tell you that they earn X amount of money per month based on their salary, or if they are self-employed or running their own business, most likely they will tell you that they earn Y amount of money each year.

There is absolutely nothing wrong to think about your earnings in terms of monthly or even yearly basis. But when it comes to clarity, it is best to think in terms of daily income.

For example, if you want to earn $100k a year, it means that you want to earn about $10k a month. And if you further break it down on the daily basis, it means that you want to earn about $350 per day.

Now, it is important to understand your income per day because it gives you a clear hint if what you do each day can justify your income.

So if your goal is to earn $350 per day, ask yourself if what you do every day is enough to get you this amount of money. And if what you do is not going to generate you $350, then find out what you need to do to earn this amount of money.

Can you see the power in asking about breaking your income into a daily basis now?

When you know how much you want to earn per day, you can tell if what you do daily, and your routines are justifiable to earn you this money.

Of course, if what you do is not going to earn you $350, then what should you do to make this money each day?

It forces you to think quickly and go straight to the point where what you do are going to generate the daily income target that you desire.

Therefore, if you want to make $100k per year, just ask yourself what you need to do each day to make $350.

You know it very well that if what you do today is not going to make you $350, you are not going to hit your final target of making $100k a year.

Your earning abilities are largely influenced by your thoughts. Hence, if you want to earn a million dollars, you must adopt the million-dollar mentality. You can’t have the $10k mentality and expect to earn $1 million, right? Hence, I suggest you attend this web class from John Assaraf to change your brain, so that you can your income.

So be honest with yourself.

If what you do is not going to make you the amount of money you want, perhaps you should consider other strategies or ways of doing it.

How much do you want to earn per day? And what can you do today to earn this amount of money?

7. If money didn’t exist, will I still be doing what I’m doing each day?

This is another one of my favorite self-discovery questions.

I ask this question quite regularly. I will imagine that if money does not exist or if I have all the money in the world, will I still be doing what I’m doing.

Take this blog for example. If I have all the money that I need, will I still continue to blog and share my thoughts here? I found that the answer is an undoubted yes.

I will continue to blog even if I’m rich. That makes me believe that I’m blogging not solely for the money, but instead, it is for other different purposes like passion and other inner motivation that drives me.

You too should ask yourself these questions…

If you are rich or if money is not a limitation, will you still be doing what you do right now?
Will you still be working in the same company or will you choose to quit and venture into your business?
What will you be doing in the morning, afternoon, and in the evening?

Answering this question tells you what truly matters to you when you are not restricted financially.

It gives you a sense of the ideal life that you want.

So, if money is not a problem at all, will you still be doing what you do each day? What will you do then?

Let your imagination goes wild and dreams the ideal life that you want.

Conclusion

Asking questions is a powerful way to discover yourself, your purpose, and the kind of life you want to live.

When you ask the right questions, you get to understand yourself better. It is a great way to reflect on your life and master yourself. As Lao Tzu said:

“Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power.”

So get to know yourself better and understand your purpose and what you want in life by asking these 7 questions.

Where am I and what am I doing here?
What activities or things give me the most joy and satisfaction?
If everything is perfect and happens according to my plan, how will my life look like in the next 10 years?
Why do I wake up in the morning and what are the things I’m looking forward to?
What is the one thing I can do today to get closer to my ideal life?
How much do I want to earn per day and what should I do today to earn this amount?
If money didn’t exist, will I still be doing what I’m doing each day?

So which question do you find the most helpful? Let me know in the comment section below. Cheers.