One of the most essential and powerful lessons I have learned from reading many books, interviewing a lot of smart people, and having discussions with my counselor is that questioning is more vital than answers.
But all that goes against everything that you learn in school where you are rewarded for the excellence and merit of your answers.
However, this is not what you should judge a person on. Instead, look at the value of a person’s questions, like Voltaire famously said:
"Assess a person by his questions instead of his answers.”
The accurate question and the accurate time can flash the correct answer that modifies your life.
I’ve built a habit of asking myself questions all the time. In this content, I want to share some questions that have the potential to change everything about what you do. Let’s take a start.
Life in regular/common
Let’s start with some yes/no questions to evaluate how you feel. Like all the questions in this content. I answer them in my logbook.
Sometimes a month, I open my logbook and look at the questions I have added there, so I’m frequently reminded of these questions. Sometimes I answer a few at that time. I if you use it in the same way you can also answer everything progressively if you prefer.
1. Am I contented and cheerful?
2. Am I thankful?
3. Am I satisfied with my job?
4. Do I feel okay/fit?
5. Do I spend maximum time on my education?
Why are these quick questions essential?
The reason is that you want to modify your plan if you answer no to any one of them.
we often go through life ungrateful, unhappy, and feeling bad for way too long. If something is incorrect and unsatisfactory in your life, admit it quickly, and then find the best solution.
It does not mean that these questions are just about yourself. When you’re in a good mood and content, you can lift the morales of the people in your life. That’s why I focus on fixing my happiness first. Otherwise, you can’t make your partner family, or others happy.
See the above first five questions as a quick assessment. There’s no one to impress. Be honest and think about how you feel.
A few days before I read a comment given by someone who said that people who think about themselves are selfish . We get a selfish world if everyone behaves that way. That is very limited and unconscious outlook.
You’ll definitely have a good life when you take care of yourself and are assured you’re happy. You’ll smile every day. You won’t be jealous of others at all. And most importantly, you’ll have the time and resources to help others.
That’s how the world acts. Success creates success. Misery produces misery.
Career/Position
Now let us move to an essential part of our lives. You spend most of your waking hours at work. So it’s critical that you get satisfaction from it.
In fact, doing work that you enjoy is more important than “hygiene” factors like job, income, resources, safety, location, etc. It is one of the greatest lessons I’ve learned from Clayton Christensen’s book ''How will you measure your life?"
That’s why I commonly ask myself:
6. What new things am I learning?
When I learn, I feel like I’m moving forward. This is the essential thing for me. When I’m moving forward, I feel gifted and superior.
7. Where is my career going?
You need a target/aim/vision. If you don’t have one . So it is necessary to create one.
8. How worthwhile is my work?
After spending all the day, I want to feel satisfied with my work.
9. What can I do that I’m not doing currently?
I’m regularly looking for things to do around the home and at the office. That is actually how you pick up new ideas.
10. How can I get superior at what I do?
When you get superior at what you do, you can make a more significant influence and solve major problems. That gives you more income and more satisfaction.
Business
As a business person, I need to hit my business. There would be no income and no money to pay our members without it.
So it is quite simple if your business doesn’t make money, it’s not a business, but it is a time pass activity.
To make sure we make income, we ask:
11. What is the most significant point that our customers/clients have?
We only solve real issues that other people or businesses face.
12. What is the ideal solution according to our clients/customers point of view?
Give people what they indeed demand.
13. How can we expose more worth without charging more?
Get over
14. Where can we reach our capability clients/customers?
Go where your listeners are instead of trying it the other way around.
15. How can we minimize our costs?
We always run our business with low costs. We arrange prices for everything even simple things like office supplies. That is better for us and for our customers.
Productive capacity
All the above stuff appear prominent on paper, right?
But they are nothing without implementation. You and I both understand that.
But there is still a difference between how active we are.
These questions can help you to figure out:
16. What is my priority right now?
17. How can I get my priority faster?
It’s not about being discontented. It is all about pushing yourself to think of creative ways to get faster outcomes.
18. What functions should I stop doing?
We all waste time by doing useless tasks. Identify the useful functions and stop doing the unnecessary services.
19. What questions am I not asking myself?
There are many matters/affairs in the world that we don’t know. So always try to find out the unknown. Always keep a broad mind.
The questions which I am not asking myself that’s why I will keep questioning about everything all the time.
20. How can I support one person today?
Cheer your family and friends up. Start by helping others in your life then ask them to return it forward.