Contrary to popular belief, understanding who we are has less to do with discovery and more to do with remembrance.
Have you ever woken up one day to an epiphany and the realization that you were profoundly wrong about something – anything- in your life?
Probably not.
The secret to finding ourselves, especially when feeling lost in life, is to shed light on the unconscious.
Understanding who you are and what you’re meant to do (AKA your Life Purpose), requires a little introspection.
If you want to uncover your true self to give your life direction, this article will give you 30 questions to find yourself and what you’re meant to do.
Ready for a little introspection exercise?
Let’s get started!
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+ 30 Self-Discovery Questions to Ask Yourself Become Your True Self
1.What is Worth Suffering For?
No matter the direction you decide to give your life, struggles are inevitable.
Discovering what you consider worth suffering for will help you choose your battles wisely and focus your time and energy on activities that will move you in the right direction.
Although it’s often said that if something drains us, it’s not meant for us, some things are worth fighting for.
Knowing what you’re willing to make sacrifices for will help you find your place in this crowded world.
2. Who is Worth Suffering For?
No matter how kind we are – I have a feeling you wear your heart on your sleeve too – we will never be able to save and keep everyone in our lives.
Some people are not worth fighting for.
Although saying goodbye is painful, understanding that not everyone is meant to stay in our lives is key to finding our true selves and giving our lives meaning.
When saying goodbye to someone who used to be a close friend or lover, ask yourself how meeting this person helped you grow and what lessons you have learned from being with them.
Be grateful that the universe, or God, or whoever is running this simulation made it happen and move on.
Not everyone is meant to stay.
And that’s okay.
3. What Would You Stand for if You Knew Nobody Would Judge You?
If you could defend one cause you truly believe in without fear of judgment, what would it be?
Would you fight against injustice, protect children’s rights, clean the oceans?
4. How Would You Spend Your Life if You Knew Nobody Would Judge You?
If you could start fresh and do anything with your life without judgment, what would it be?
Would you sell all your possessions and travel the world with nothing but a backpack, your partner, and your dog?
Or would you quit your draining 9-5 to make a living with your art?
Would you show the world who you truly are and start living your most authentic life?
5. Based on Your Daily Habits, Where Will You Be in 2, 5, and 10 Years?
If you want to know what your life will be like a few years from now, start by taking an honest look at your daily habits.
What you focus your energy and time on eventually becomes who you are.
Spend most of your time being active and working out, and you’ll become a fit person.
Write daily, and you’ll be a writer. Sing, paint, or draw regularly, and you’ll be an artist. Your daily habits shape your future.
Who you become and where you’ll stand in a few years is really up to you. Everything you want in life is on the other side of consistency. Your daily habits are what will help you make it happen.
6. Whom Do You Admire the Most?
If you had to name one person you admire the most, dead or alive, who would it be?
Finding role models when feeling lost in life can be hard. How could you when you don’t really know who you are and even less who you want to become?
If you don’t know yet what you want to accomplish, ask yourself what famous people inspire you the most.
This doesn’t necessarily mean you want to achieve the same goals and mirror their lives.
Just take note of who you find intriguing and ask yourself the following question.
7. What’s So Interesting About Them?
What draws you to the people you admire?
Is it their capacity to overcome the challenges life throws at them?
The fact that they manifested everything they wanted in life despite coming from a disadvantaged background?
Or maybe them being kind souls and staying positive no matter what?
Finding role models doesn’t mean you have to replicate everything they do, but you can choose traits and habits you want to develop to improve your life, no matter the direction you end up taking.
8. What’s One Thing You Love but Would Be Mortified to Share with the World?
One reason we sometimes feel lost and stuck in life is that we refuse to show up as who we really are.
Playing a role as soon as we’re out in public is exhausting.
What if we could convince ourselves that we are enough and be proud of who we are?
This simple action would make everyday life so much easier. To honor your true self, ask yourself what’s one thing you secretly love but have always been scared to share with the people around you.
How can you start doing it today?
9. What Are 3 Things You Thought You Would Never Get Over?
We all have our own battles. Things that once seemed insurmountable are often forgotten once we overcome them.
Remembering the things you used to struggle to get over or achieve is a great way to acknowledge how far you’ve come.
10. Why Did They Seem So Insurmountable?
Why did these things seem impossible to overcome?
And while we’re at it, what was about them that made you feel like you weren’t strong enough?
Why was it so important for you to overcome them?
How did overcoming them improve your life?
11. And How Did You Get Over Them?
Since these obstacles are now part of your past, how did you actually overcome them?
What lessons did you learn from overcoming these obstacles?
How can you apply these lessons to the challenges you are facing today?
12. What Are Your 3 Most Significant Accomplishments So Far?
What are your 3 biggest achievements in life so far?
Why are they so important to you? And what makes you so proud of them?
13. Who Are You Trying to Impress?
Remember when we said that one of the reasons people feel lost and stuck in their lives is because they don’t embrace their true selves?
This is generally caused by trying to impress or live up to the expectations of someone else, usually a close relative.
Understanding who you are looking for validation from will help you figure out why you try to achieve your goals and define new ones that will truly support your vision of the ideal life.
14. If Money Was Out of the Equation, How Would You Spend Your Days?
Most people’s lives evolve around their jobs. There’s nothing wrong with that, as long as you carefully choose your job and find purpose in it.
If you want to know whether that’s the case, ask yourself if you would still go to work every day if there were no money on the table.
Would you still do it if you didn’t need the money?
If your heart screams “No” and you have no plan to get you out of this trap, you should rethink your career and aspirations.
15. What Are the 5 Things You Spend the Most Time Doing?
The things you focus the most time and energy on eventually become who you are.
What are the 5 things you have been spending the most time on in the last few months?
Activities such as working, sleeping, and eating do not count.
Are these activities leading you in the right direction? If not, making changes fast is key to ensuring you don’t get stuck in someone else’s life.
16. What Do You Wish These 5 Things Were Instead?
If you already have a hint about what you want to be doing in 3-5 years, what are 5 habits you can start today that will help you get there?
17. What Are 3 Things You Struggle to Accept in Your Life (Things You Cannot Change)?
Although we can achieve a lot with a bit of patience and consistency, there are things we simply can’t change.
Accepting this fact is key to redirecting your energy toward things you can actually influence.
What are 3 immutable things you will never be able to change in your life?
Acknowledge them and let go.
18. What Are 3 Things You Have Been Trying to Change in Your Life?
Identify 3 things you want to change but haven’t succeeded in doing so.
19. What Are the Habits That Could Help You Make Progress on These 3 Things?
What small habits could you start following today to make progress on these 3 things?
Could you create a morning routine with them to ensure you work on your personal goals before heading to work?
20. How Many Objects You Own Actually Bring You Joy?
Physical clutter turns into mental chaos.
If you went through each room in your home and looked at each object in it, how many would actually bring you joy?
Living in a clean, tidy, and clutter-free space is a great way to gain mental clarity and focus on building a more fulfilling life.
21. Why Are You Keeping Everything Else?
Could you give, donate, recycle, or throw away one object per day during a month or month?
How lighter would you feel?
22. What Activities Make You Lose Track of Time?
The Flow is a mental state in which we lose track of time.
If you don’t know your life purpose yet, focusing on the activities that put you in the Flow is key to finding your way to a happier life.
Building your life around them is key to living a more fulfilling and balanced life.
23. What’s Your Biggest Regret in Life?
And most importantly, why?
24. What Activities Did You Enjoy as a Child?
This is the perfect example of how finding your life direction is more about remembrance than self-discovery.
Very often, as we grow up and have less free time, we give up on the things our younger selves used to enjoy.
As influenceable as children might be, they tend to be naturally drawn to things they like without fear of judgment.
What activities did you particularly like as a child?
25. When Was the Last Time You Did Any of Them?
Engaging again in these activities will not only bring back sweet memories but also help you unleash your creativity.
When was the last time you did any of the things your younger self used to enjoy?
Why did you stop doing them?
And how can you make time for some of them today?
26. What’s One Thing You Want to Be Remembered For?
If there was only one thing you could be remembered for, what would you like it to be?
27. What Are You Truly Good At?
Feeling lost in life is usually the result of a lack of purpose.
To find your life purpose, try to identify something that is at the intersection of these 3 key elements: What you like, What you’re good at, and what the world needs.
Although your job doesn’t have to be linked to your life purpose, you could totally make a living out of it.
Think about what you truly enjoy doing and ask yourself if you could make the world a little better with it.
If the answer is “Yes”, you’re not only sitting on a gold mine but also have your life purpose at your fingertips.
28. What Activities Bring You Peace?
What are the activities that help you wind down after a hard day at work or soothe your mind when feeling upset/worried?
Could you make time for them and add some of them to your night routine?
29. How Would You Describe Yourself in 5 Words?
And how would you like to be described by others?
What qualities do you want to be associated with?
30. What Does One Day in Your Ideal Life Look Like?
If you had complete freedom of time, what would a perfect day in your life look like?
Describe it as precisely as possible.
Striving to live your ideal day as often as possible will help you slowly create a life you love.
Could you take one day this week or month to plan and live the perfect day?
Final Thoughts
Embarking on a journey of self-discovery and finding your life’s purpose is a deeply personal and transformative process.
These +30 Questions to Find Yourself and What You’re Meant to Do are meant to guide you through introspection and help you uncover your true self.
Remember, finding your life direction is about remembering who you’ve always been.
Embrace the insights gained from these questions, and let them steer you towards a more fulfilling and authentic life.
By shedding light on your unconscious thoughts, focusing on what truly matters, and aligning your daily habits with your passions, you will create a life that resonates with you.
Start today and take one step closer to living your most authentic life.