What Are Your Reliable Life Questions
Questions we develop to help us understand ourselves and navigate life better
It’s invaluable to develop finely crafted go-to questions to ask ourselves to increase the probability of coming to smarter conclusions from deeper thought for the purpose of addressing life situations more effectively.
But what are those questions that will help us understand ourselves and drive us towards making correct, optimal decisions more often.
If you remain fuzzy on what this means, here are just two examples from leadership curator and best-selling author Tim Ferriss:
👉🏿How has a failure, or apparent failure, set you up for later success? Do you have a “favorite failure” of yours?
👉🏿When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, or have lost your focus temporarily, what do you do? (If helpful: What questions do you ask yourself?)
Vincent Provenzano, a personal life coach at Change of Plans, talked with Communication Intelligence, the Newsletter about the topic of conversation.
The idea of questions to learn about oneself and know where to go next is personal and meaningful to him and maybe what he experienced resonates with others.
“I was at a proverbial fork in the road. One path led to blame and self-sabotage and the other led to introspection, self-audit and self-work,” he says.
Move evolved questions can expand our thinking to seeing life, challenges and problems in a different, more helpful light, logically meaning they can assist us in successfully addressing difficulties.
“The right questions can bring a more objective, outside perspective — allowing us to look at things in a way that we normally don’t see on our own,” Provenzano says. “In our human nature, we want answers. Unfortunately, we’re often limited in our own viewpoint. We don’t see what others see, especially the viewpoints of those who aren’t entangled in our challenges.”
He explains that he too has thought about and created specific questions to generate insights into himself or situations he faces.
“Where can I find peace in my present circumstances? What is going right? What do I want out of this?,” Provenzano details.
These questions act as catalysts for thought and honest replies to provide clarity. Provenzano explains why each of his three questions he uses work so well for him.
“Where can I find peace in my present circumstances? First, no one functions their best under stress. When we prioritize peace, we create a space for inner growth and self-discovery, enabling us to navigate challenges with grace and resilience,” Provenzano says. “Whether it’s going for a walk with my dog or even a noisy coffee shop that’s away from the immediate source of stress, it’s important for me to find that place of peace that promotes better thinking."
“What is going right? Focusing on the positive things in my life can be a simple step along my path toward accomplishing my life goals and vision. While it’s important to recognize the negative, focusing on what’s going right stimulates my imagination for solutions rather than being weighed down by problems.
“What do I want out of this? Often, it’s tempting to think that just eliminating a source of stress or discomfort is the goa: ‘I want the pain to stop.’
“Better results come when we think beyond the pain to an achievement. Marathon runners are not motivated by the prospect of resting, but by the joy of crossing the finish line,” Provenzano states.
Brainstorming questions that can either address a wide-range of common problems or specific ones may not be simple yet with patience and persistence, we can identify or manufacture them and greatly benefit in protective and progressive ways.
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