(Updated on March 12, 2023)
“The key to wisdom is knowing all the right questions.” — John Simone
What questions do you ask yourself every day?
Believe it or not, the questions you ask yourself affect the life you lead. That’s because the questions you ask determine what you focus on, leading to certain actions (or inactions), thereafter causing the results (or lack of) in your life.
When you ask limiting questions, you get limiting answers, often causing you to circle in the same negative state in life. On the other hand, when you ask forwarding questions, you get solutions, ideas, and new perspectives, which then help you break out of a negative state and rise to the next level.
Some people like to ask “Why am I so unlucky?” or “Why am I always caught in such a bad situation?” Because these questions are negative, the answers you get are naturally disempowering. On the other hand, questions like “What can I learn from this experience?”, “What can I do differently moving forward?”, and “What am I grateful for?” are empowering. They get you to think positively, putting you on the path to a better life.
If you don’t normally self-reflect, you might be stumped by these questions. This is perfectly normal. I remember when I was in primary school, the teacher asked us how we would describe ourselves. The question stumped me because I had never thought much about it. It took me some time to find some meaningful adjectives to describe myself, but even then they didn’t seem right. That was one of the starting points of my self-exploration journey. Somewhere along the way, I became a big fan of introspection, enjoying the process of self-reflection and thinking over questions.
Today, I believe questions are key to our personal growth. In this guide, you’ll find 101 important questions for your self-reflection, created by me. Many are questions that I ask my clients during our coaching sessions to remove their inner blocks and discover their inner selves. These questions will help you focus on what’s important to you.
Some things to note:
- It’s okay if you are stumped by these questions. The answers are there, inside you. Clear your mind, relax, and ask yourself these questions at different sittings. Soon the answers will come!
- These questions are not meant to be answered in one shot — they are meant to be reflected over time as part of your personal growth journey. Pick out 2-3 questions to reflect on today, then check back a few days later to work on the others.
- There is no one final answer. Life is a continuous journey. Your answers today may be different from your answers one, three, or five years later. Refer to this list regularly to think over the questions and see where you stand.
- Bookmark this article — it’s highly important for your growth. I’ve also created an ebook version for your easy reading — simply click the download button at the start of the article to download!
I present to you, 101 important questions to ask yourself:
- Who are you? How would you describe yourself?
- What are you passionate about?
- What past achievements are you proudest of?
- What are you grateful for? (Day 14 of Live a Better Life in 30 Days is about expressing gratitude.)
- What are the most important things to you in life?
- What are your values? (Values are principles that you regard as most important, that you wish to embody as a person. Day 15 of Live a Better Life in 30 Days is about identifying your values.)
- On a scale of 1-10, how much do you love yourself? Why did you give this score?
- Is it 10/10? If not, how can you achieve a 10/10 self-love?
- What is your ideal self? What qualities does he/she have?
- How can you be more like your ideal self?
- Look at your life now. On a scale of 1-10, how happy are you with your life? Why did you give this score?
- How can you increase your happiness level?
- If you have a year left to live, what would you do?
- If you only have a week left to live, what would you do?
- If you only have a day left to live, what would you do?
- If you only have a minute left to live, what would you do?
- What are the biggest things you’ve learned in life to date?
- What advice would you give to your younger self?
- Imagine you are 10 years older. What advice would you give to your present self?
- What are your Quadrant 2 tasks? (Quadrant 2 tasks are the important but not urgent things on our to-do list.)
- How can you start working on them?
- What are the things that normally keep you busy, but are unimportant?
- Can you discard them? If not, how can you streamline, automate, or delegate them?
- What are your biggest goals and dreams?
- If you were to do something for free for the rest of your life, what would it be?
- What would you do if you cannot fail — if there are no limitations in money, resources, time, or networks?
- How can you make this happen, even if in a small way?
- What do you want to achieve 1 year from now?
- …3 years?
- …5 years?
- …10 years?
- How important are these goals to you? (If not important, remove them until you’re left with the most important goals.)
- What are your action steps to achieve your first goal?
- What are your action steps to achieve your second goal?
- What are your action steps to achieve your other goals?
- Identify three people who have achieved your desired goals.
- What did they do to achieve the goals? What can you learn from them?
- Are you putting any parts of your life on hold? Why?
- What is the top priority in your life right now? What are you doing about it?
- If you were to die tomorrow, what would be your biggest regret?
- …What can you do now to make sure that it doesn’t happen?
- Looking back on your life, have you done anything that you regretted?
- …What happened, and why?
- …What can you learn from this episode?
- …What can you do differently moving forward?
- Is there a grudge, a pain that you are holding on to?
- …Why are you holding on to it?
- …Is it time to let it go?
- What is your biggest frustration right now?
- …What can you do about it?
- What is the biggest thing you can do now to change your life for the better?
- If you have a million dollars, what would you do with it?
- Do you love your current job? Why or why not?
- What is your ideal career?
- …What can you do to start working towards it?
- What is your ideal diet?
- …Are you following your ideal diet now?
- …If not, what can you do to move towards it?
- What is your ideal home like?
- …Is your current home a match with your ideal home?
- …If not, what do you need to do to achieve your ideal home?
- What is your ideal physical look?
- …Is your current look a match with your ideal look?
- …If not, what do you need to do to achieve your ideal look?
- What is your ideal life?
- …What do you need to do to start living your ideal life?
- What would you want to say to yourself in 10 years?
- What do you fear most? Why?
- Is there anything you are running away from? Why?
- Are you settling for less than what you are worth? Why?
- What is your inner dialogue like? (Day 26 of Be a Better Me in 30 Days is about uncovering your limiting thoughts.)
- Do you have limiting beliefs? What are they?
- Are they helping you to achieve your goals? If not, is it time to let them go?
- What empowering beliefs can you replace them with?
- What bad habits do you want to break?
- How can you break these bad habits?
- What good habits do you want to cultivate?
- How can you develop these good habits?
- What is the meaning of life?
- What is your life purpose? What is your mission?
- What drives you? What are the times when you are most inspired, motivated, and charged up?
- What did you do during those times? How can you do more of that starting today?
- Who are your favorite people to hang out with?
- Why? How can you spend more time with them?
- You are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with. Who are the 5 people you spend the most time with?
- Are these people enabling you or holding you back? (Day 18 of Live a Better Life in 30 Days is about evaluating your relationships.)
- For the people holding you back, how can you spend less time with them?
- Do you have any toxic relationships in your life? If so, is it time to let them go?
- Where can you meet people who can uplift you?
- Is there someone whom you admire or respect?
- What do you like about this person? How can you be more like him/her?
- What qualities do you look for in your ideal partner?
- Do you embody these qualities too?
- Are you afraid of letting others get close to you? Why?
- Who are the most important people to you in the world?
- How can you spend more time with them starting today?
- Describe the kind of person you enjoy spending time with. How can you be this person to others?
- If you could choose anyone in the world, who would you like to be your mentor?
- How can you learn from them (even if you don’t know them personally)?
- How can you change someone’s life for the better today?
- What are you going to do differently after reading this article?
Get the manifesto version of this article: The Self-Reflection Manifesto
This is part of the Inspiration & Motivation series. Check out the other articles in the series:
- 10 Powerful Graduation Speeches You Don’t Want To Miss
- 13 Meaningful Movies With Life Lessons To Learn
- 20 Amazing Commercials To Inspire the Greatness in You
- 56 Most Inspirational Songs of All Time
- 15 Beautiful Inspirational Wallpapers For Your Desktop
- 15 Beautiful Wallpapers With Positive Affirmations
- 101 Inspiring Quotes of All Time
- 101 Things To Do Before You Die
- 101 Ways To Be a Better Person
- 101 Ways To Live Your Life To The Fullest
- 101 Important Questions To Ask Yourself in Life
- 101 Life Principles to Live By Daily
(Images: Question mark, Heart, Hourglass, Journaling, Balloons, Money, Birthday, Mission, Reading book, Girl at window)
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Hi Celes, a brilliant post as always! Definitely one to refer back to every so often. But what happened to the other 16? :-)
Hey Glenn, some points have 2-4 questions, so those count as more than 1 question :D In total there are actually more than 101 questions I believe.
Oh yes, of course.. 1 year, 3 years, 5 years :)
Indeed :D I find that when I think in terms of different time frames the answers that come up can be quite different. It’s very awareness raising.
thank you very much .
thank you very much.
thank you very much.
i love your work.
The one minute left to live question is a fun one :-) This might sound a bit desructive, but I think I would smash anything around me. As long there was nobody close by who could get hurt. Throw a laptop through a window perhaps, smash some plates, break some furniture, jars of food or bottles of drink, turn a hose on at maximum water pressure, throw food at people, jump up and down on furniture, and just have as much fun as possible!!
Yes, the 1 minute left to live is indeed very fun :D For me I think I’ll be call my loved ones and just spend the last minute talking to them. Or meditate and sit in the stillness of the world.
Wow! That a very thorough list and full of questions that, if answered from the heart, can lead to great insights and serve as a sort of life map as far as letting you know just where you are at the moment along with where you have been and wish to go. Nicely done. :)
Thanks a lot! :D
Great post Celes. Anyone who takes the time to answer these questions and follow through will live a better life.
Thanks a lot Qin Tang :D. Hope all’s great at your end!
Hey Celes,
How are ya? Here you said, 101 questions, but there are only 85! What happened to the rest?
Love
Manashree
Hi Manashree, as mentioned in my reply to Glenn above some points have 2-4 questions, so those count as more than 1 question. In total there are more than 101 questions. :)
Hey Celes! This was another round of fun learning for me. Yes, the questions we ask ourselves do reflect how we look at life, and the answers we give such questions would be ways we live.
Hmmm… I feel like answering each and every one of them. It sure would be a good time, won’t it? But on the second thought, all these hundred and one questions inspires a series of new discoveries for everyone. It all sure gave me that same number of things to write about, if not reflect on right away.
So thanks, Celes! Keep posting fun, creative and helpful stuff. They’re always great reads!
~Arina~
Thanks Arina, and keep your comments coming too! They’re wonderful. :D
Hey Celes :)
I just decided that I want to live my life more passionately and consciously. For a long time, I’ve lived life just going from day to day, waking up every morning, going to school, eating, somehow spending the evening and then going to bed again.
I think that I was too afraid to really think about what I could improve in my life. I have noticed a lot of fear through the years – unfortunately, there even were some years of depression in which I pretty much was afraid of life itself. And still, I think that my fear hinders me from fully living and living to the fullest of my ability & potential. But now I decided that I want to get rid of that fear. I want to LIVE and not be afraid to risk something. I want to not always think about what others might think of me. I want to stop being scared of the smallest, most ridiculous things.
I don’t exactly know where that fear comes from, but I know that it’s pretty much ruining my life to quite some extent. And that fear leads to nervousness, and that nervousness leads to tics, which ruin every single day of my life. I want to finally get rid of my tics – for ever.
I want to start being brave and fearless – and the first step will be answering some of these questions. I am convinced that by doing so, I will already be on my way to a more passionate and conscious life. And that’s what I want – I want to be passionate, consciously experience everything around myself and make the best effort I can – always.
I’m sorry if the comment is too long and if there are any grammar mistakes I made (English is not my native language, so they happen) – I will most certainly answer the questions on my blog, so if you’re interested, you can look it up (I posted the link to it as my website).
Lots of love ♥
Vanessa
to be authentically fearless, you have to wake up from waking :) :-P
Hi Celes,
Our inner dialogue; the things we say to ourselves and the things we think are very important. If our inner dialogue is not positive, if we do not take care in choosing what we nourish our minds with; be it through reading and music, it could lead to problems in our lives.
I like how you have identified some questions and backward looking and disempowering. This is indeed true if we think in an ineffective and unproductive manner. It is so easy to slip into this mode of thinking especially if you have thought in this manner all your life. Nowadays I try to focus on the solutions instead of the problems. By asking questions that help me to resolve the challenge at hand, I gain greater control over my life and the things that influence it.
One of the things that struck me about your list is how you look at your eyes from the future. If we know where we want to go and what we wish to achieve, it helps to set our lives on the right track so that we live the lives we want to live.
Thank you for sharing!
Dear wonderful and very special Celes, I LOVE this post – I did not finish reading all the questions for a good reason. I want to do this test with Andy – do you think I will have a chance of convincing him? We should sit down together at home and just take every question and answer it. Then we will read each other’s responses out loud and see how we see life….It’s a fantastic exercise – time-consuming yes but very worth while. THANK YOU for sharing such valuable information that I think is truly part of your coaching sessions. And I miss you – hope you have been well!!
What a great list Celes. I love the way questions activate our minds to find answers. By asking the important questions we are able to discover the answers that help us choose the right path and produce meaningful results.
Celes,
This list gives a wide variety of areas to evaluate and create changes. Like you suggested, it would be a good idea to revisit these every few months to keep on track with your vision of life.
Thanks for sharing these,
Val ;)
Hi Celes,
May God Bless you & always keep you, at peace, safe & comforted. You have wonderful in-site. Thank you for sharing your words of wisdom, the tools for inner reflection. I think we all get off center sometimes & you have given us, some very practical ideas to recenter, possibly reboot our purpose in life. Thanks again. Keep up the good work. I hope you have Jesus Christ as Lord & saviour in your life. Your special & insightful & I sure would like to see you in heaven for all eternity. Thanks again.
What is your mission. Love that one. It allows one to think about a purpose in life. Those who are ready to answer this question, the results are worth the struggle. Great post celest.
Beautiful set of questions.
I created a 101 list of questions too, so I could share the most effective questions I’ve learned over time.
My favorite question for driving life is “Who do you want to be and what experiences do you want to create?”
Wow these are truly powerful questions that you are asking here. I don’t think many people ask some of these questions within their lifetime!
One of the most important things we could do is sit down and think about what it is that we really want and then focus on how that feels, everyday until you attain it. Along with asking these questions, one should also mentally rehearse and visualize on the answers too.
I will definitely be asking some new questions to myself too! Thanks! haha
This is a very comprehensive list, Celes! A very insightful post as always. I think that knowing your mission is really important, it is a driving force of all that we do. We will wander aimlessly without a central mission.
This is beautiful. Something to start on the weekend. Thank you!
Wow, this one almost hurts my feelings in a weird way because I feel like I should have written it. :D This is almost a meme post, where people should go back to their blogs and answer 8 to 10 of these a day; it would certainly give people a lot to write about, that’s for sure. Heck, this might spark a blog post or two from me. I love the list; thanks for sharing it.
Dude, you have changed my life so much, How can I every repay you back!!
i stumped at the first question jeez
The questions need not be answered in the listed order — go down the list and you may find questions that immediately trigger answers in you! :) Good luck–it’s a fun and revealing Q&A process for sure!
Hey Celes
i just wanted to thank you for all that you gave us. I don’t normally comment on anything, actually like never, but this time you’ll the exception. :)
Somedays i just feel so exhausted and want to give up on my dreams and goals, and just not do anything. I lay here at home like a sloth thinking about what i should do…what i’m suppose to do, its so hard to get up to do anything… (i’ve lost my way once again T.T) i have my laptop here with me deciding what i should do, wondering around the internet and there i see the personal excellence bookmark on my bookmark bar and so i decided to go to it. And after reading a few of your posts my mind start opening again, its amazing what you write. After finding your website back in like 2012 my life has change a whole heap for the better. And every time i fell on my knees it feels like you would be there to pick me up again. So thank you so much Celes!
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