Eleven Questions to Reflect on for 2016
Happy new year! I hope you had an incredible time celebrating with family and friends. I know I did. I am beyond excited to get started on some big projects this year.
As 2015 is officially behind us, it is time to live the lives that we secretly wish we had. Through my work, one common thread that I have noticed is that everybody has an ideal, "dream life" in the back of their mind. It is stored so far into the abyss of crowded information we hold though that very few people take the time to act upon it or even think about it. Consequently, the dreams slowly start fading away, and many of us start believing that our fantasies are either impractical or impossible to attain.
I'm here to tell you that your dream life is not impractical or impossible to attain. The point of this post is to inspire you to think bigger, stop limiting yourself, and cut the crap. In order to think bigger, you have to ask yourself some thought-provoking questions. These are questions that most people don't bother to ever ask, just because they are afraid to go out of their comfort zones, or they believe that asking the questions will require too much effort. What better time to face these questions then at the beginning of a new year, though? I have provided 11 powerful questions below, with my thoughts on some of them as well. Write down your responses to each question and really introspect on how they affect your own life.
By going on to read this post, you ultimately have three options:
Close down the post before even fully reading it. I have my fingers crossed that you don't do that!
Read the blog post, but don't absorb any of the information written here. I think this is like a metaphor for our lives. We often go through our day-to-day life without thinking. It is similar to the autopilot function on a plane.
Read the blog post, reflect on all the content written here, and inspire yourself to grow in life by using the content to the fullest extent possible. I hope this is the option you choose :).
Here are the questions:
1. Who are you really? Describe yourself without using your name or any attributes given to you by society. Think. Deep down, who are you?
2. Do you ask enough questions or are you happily settling for what you know already?
3. If you had a friend that you spoke to the same you speak to yourself, how long do you think that person would allow you to be his or her friend?
I think there are two possible issues here. Either we put on "fake" appearances that do not actually portray our true selves to our friends, or we just are not friends with the people who fully understand us. Which issue are you affected by?
4. What were you doing when you last lost track of time? Did that make you smile?
Find a creative way to incorporate the activity that makes you smile into your life. For example, if you enjoy learning about space, perhaps you can be an astronaut teacher for kids on the side. This could potentially even become your full-time job someday!
5. If you dropped everything to pursue your dreams, what would you be risking?
This is what holds most people back from going after their dreams. There is often too much risk in doing so. Think about how you can take a calculated risk, or how you can start creatively pursuing your dreams with minimal risk involved.
6. Is being open-minded a virtue if it's causing destructive ideas to spread throughout society?
In my opinion, being open-minded is a virtue if your open-mindedness affects society in a positive way. If your open-mindedness affects society in a negative way, however, perhaps it is not a virtue. Find out how you can be open-minded and simultaneously affect society in a postiive way.
7. How do you remember all the great things that you have in your life?
Every morning when I wake up, the first thing I do is simply think of ten things that I am grateful for in my life. The items that I think of are sometimes as simple as being able to drink apple juice.
8. Are you holding onto something that you need to let go of? Why?
9. Who do you love in your life, and how have you let those people know that over the past days, weeks, and years?
Small actions often mean much more than large, extravagant actions. To show you love someone in your life, perhaps try something small like buying his or her favorite candy bar/gum at the store when you are there.
10. If life is so short, why do we do so many things we don't like, and like so many things that we don't do?
We often let society dictate the course of our lives. Think about how you can dictate your own life instead.
11. If we learn from our mistakes, why are we always so afraid to make a mistake?
I would love to hear your thoughts on any of the questions above in the comments section. Now, go out and start taking action to make 2016 the best year yet!