Do you understand yourself? Understanding yourself helps you to make decisions that help you to choose the best paths for you to take. Often the choices we make without understanding ourselves can be wrong decisions that create problems. Understanding our strengths, weaknesses, what gives us satisfaction and what causes us stress help guide our paths to those experiences that will provide us with the best possible outcomes for our choices.
If you keep a journal these 10 questions may help you to know yourself and to get in touch with inner thoughts and feelings. They can help you make choices in your private life, your working life and in your relationships.
1. Describe what you believe is truly important in life. Describe anything you would fight for in life to keep and not lose.
2. Describe what values in life best reflect what you believe are essential values that you treasure about yourself. Describe what gives you happiness and a sense of achievement and what upsets you and causes you stress and anger or frustration.
3. Describe a dream you have about what you would like to achieve for yourself personally in life. Describe what affect this dream is having on your life currently and what you would hope it to have in the future.
4. Who is a mentor or major influence in your life and how do they help you make decisions? Why are they an important influence?
5. What would you like to achieve within the next 10 years in your personal life?
6. What do you consider are your special talents and gifts?
7. What skills would you like to develop in either your personal or working life in the next 12 months?
8. What would you regret not doing if you look back on your life in 20 years’ time?
9. What do you consider your greatest achievement in life until now?
10. What do you consider is your greatest failure, sadness or disappointment
Remember there are no right or wrong answers for any of these questions. As you answer them honestly and thoughtfully, the answers will provide you with a picture of you and a summary of your hopes and aspirations and the things you can learn from your past choices. Turn your answers into life goals and use them to help make decisions that will shape your future.