Hajra Naz
The important step in knowing who you are and what you want out of life is your self-reflection. In terms of personal and professional development, you can also use questions to help you fulfil your goals and achieve more success.
This article claims that Steve Jobs transformed Apple from a company on a path of bankruptcy to a $1 trillion company by asking himself one important question.
Jobs lost his job at Apple, the business he founded, in 1985. However, through a strange turn of events, Jobs was able to return to Apple in 1996 when the firm purchased his business NeXT.
But with just ninety days of cash in the bank at the time, Apple was near bankruptcy.
Jobs was therefore forced to act quickly to turn the company around and put it back on track. This one question, which he asked himself, allowed the business to regain its profitability and focus:
Where do we fit in the world, and who is Apple?
STEVE JOBS
Jobs and his team removed the majority of the products the company was attempting to market at the time by responding to the question. This ultimately narrowed their focus to the jewels, which made for around 30% of the company’s whole product line.
As a result, the group went on to develop the famous ‘Think Different’ campaign for the business, which helped it grow into one of the most valuable public companies in the world.
But that’s not all Jobs added in his Stanford graduating speech that he asked himself one question every morning that had transformed his life. In his address, he stated the following:
I once saw a statement when I was seventeen it had said something if you live every day as if it is your last, you will most definitely be right someday. It left an impression on me, and ever since for the last thirty-three years, I have asked myself If today were the last day of my life, what would I want to do and what I am about to do today every morning when I look in the mirror. And I know I need to make changes if the response is No for a long time of time.
Once more, Jobs questioned himself to find out what he wanted to accomplish in life.
It’s especially true because asking yourself questions may be very effective and transformative.
In our minds, we ask ourselves questions all the time.
- What should I do now?
- How can I do this?
- Should I prepare for myself or should I have lunch at X?
- What should I order? Mocha or latte?
- Should I read this article?
So, when it comes to self-growth and understanding yourself, asking the right questions helps in much more things.
Do you wish to develop and get better every day? Would you like your daily actions to express your inner values? That’s why, consider the following ten self-improvement questions.
Read more: Steve Jobs Tells Us 7 Ways to Make An Impact In The World
1. What was I doing last year?
Asking this question can be enjoyable. It keeps the current year in focus and helps you remember where you were at this time last year.
You can tell between the past and the present when you think about your experiences. This makes it possible for you to record the good and the bad.
As a result, it helps you to focus and make the proper decisions this year while also providing you with an understanding of what you need to do to prevent the mistakes you have been making.
2. Who do I want to be?
Yes, asking yourself who you want to be not what is the right question to ask yourself. When people ask about their life goals, they usually make a mistake.
While having goals in mind is a good thing, you will not see the outcomes you desire for yourself if you aren’t changing to become the best version of yourself.
You must change into the right individual if you want to succeed or get the outcomes you desire. For example, developing the necessary skills is the only way to become a great tennis player. It is useless to discuss being the greatest tennis player if one has the skills that one needs.
And it is through becoming the person successful you want that can you achieve the results. This is why you need to know who you want to be, not what.
3. Do I like my current way of spending my time?
Are you happy with your daily routine? If yes, it means you’re passionate and truly enjoy what you do. If the answer is no, you may want to think double time before doing something.
Working on something you don’t enjoy is pointless. It is best to use your time to work on projects that you have a passion for.
You can only work more effectively and do excellent work when you are passionate about what you do. You can never produce your best work if you lack passion and love for what you do.
4. With whom do I hang out the most?
It matters how you respond to this question because you become the person you spend the most time with. So it’s excellent if you spend most of your time with other successful and positive individuals who you want to be like. You need to keep doing that.
On the other hand, I advise you to spend less time with those who are constantly negative, complain a lot, and surround themselves with other people most of the time.
Positive energy spreads easily. Additionally, you will be impacted and become a negative person if you hang around with negative people who gossip about other people.
5. What do I think about most of the time?
Give it a moment to consider the following question: what comes to mind most of the time? Do you consider your future career? Do you consider looking for a new position? Do you have any idea how boring your work will be? Or do you reflect on your goals and objectives?
Because they are unaware of their ideas, the majority of people do not lead proactive lives. Their way of living is reactive; they react to everything that happens to them.
So take responsibility for your thoughts and take command of your life by thinking differently most of the time.
Make a mental shift to consider your future. Make the necessary plans. Regain concentration by reviewing your goals frequently and repeating positive affirmations to yourself.
6. What is my greatest fear?
Do you know what your greatest fear is? or what is the biggest thing standing in your way? You can speak with people who started successful online businesses if you want to quit your work to follow your goals of becoming an entrepreneur but are limited by your lack of knowledge. Read and absorb the knowledge from others.
The secret is to first pinpoint the challenge or fear holding you back. You can begin working on the answer once you are aware of what is preventing you.
Therefore, identify the challenges you face. What is preventing you from achieving your objectives?
7. How can I challenge myself to do better?
When was the last time you faced an uncomfortable task for yourself? Are you aware that pushing yourself and moving outside of your comfort zone are the only ways to grow?
You will continue to achieve the same results if you follow your regular course of action. So, you must push yourself to complete something hard if you want to get better, progress, and succeed more. You can not expect those things to change if you continuously remain in your comfort zone.
You have to be uncomfortable and leave your comfort zone if you want to change yourself.
Are you afraid of being on screen? Challenge yourself and publish on YouTube.
Want to improve your stamina? Challenge yourself to run a full marathon.
Want to get more traffic to your blog? Challenge yourself to write and publish every day.
8. What has happened for me to be successful?
What does success mean to you? Are you aware of what has to occur in order for you to feel successful? The majority of people have no idea what success looks like to them since they are unable to describe the success they want.
They also don’t know what to do or what they want out of life as they have a confused idea of what success looks like.
To experience life on your terms and take actions that suit you, you must clearly define your goals. People will use you to share to their success if you are not e able to define your success.
Read More: Quit this ‘ONE’ bad habit to become more successful in life
9. What should be my top 3 priorities for the next 6 months?
Answering this helps you identify your top goals and current priorities.
Many people lack knowledge about how to achieve their goals. They do not have any responsibilities and spend too much time on social media and gaming. They ultimately felt useless in their line of work.
Do not allow this to occur to you. Determining what matters most to you by setting the priorities, then spending the next few months to achieving them.
10. If I continue to do will I be able to reach my goals in the next 5 years?
Answering this question is key—it helps you set goals and focus on what matters most right now.
A lot of people do not know how to complete their objectives. They spend too much time on gaming and social media and lack responsibilities. They ultimately feel useless in the line of work.
Hence, learn from others. Study their failures and successes. Do what works and improve what does not. If you find out what you do is not going to get you what you want, change your plan, and then do it again.
Read More: 6 Mistakes people make while setting goals
Conclusion
Questions are the important part for you when it comes to helping your self-growth. Ask yourself these 10 self-growth questions to get the inspiration and for improving for change and growth:
- What was I doing last year?
- Who do I want to be?
- Do I enjoy how I spend my time now?
- With whom do I hang out the most time?
- What do I think most of the time?
- What is my greatest fear?
- How can I challenge myself to do better?
- What should happen to me to be successful?
- What should be my top 3 goals for the next 6 months?
- If I continue to do what should I do? Will I be able to reach my goals in the next 5 years?
Do you think these self-growth questions are helpful? And out of the 10 questions above which one drives you the most? Let me know in the comment section below.
