Chapter 3 – Questions to Ask Yourself
When you are looking for your true passion - because you seek happiness in your life or that there is a gap you need to fill; there are many questions you need to ask yourself.
By carefully, answering these questions will help you understand more about yourself and possibly what might be holding you back from being happy and pursuing your passions. Here are many questions you should ask yourself. You might want to get out a notepad to answer these questions or just make a mental note. Writing the answers down is usually better. My namesake ‘Brian’ Tracy always says, “Never trust your head to work as a journal.”
Many people don’t do things because they are afraid to fail or they have failed in the past. If there is something that you would do for sure, if you knew there isn’t a chance whatsoever of failing, what would that be?
What really inspires and engages you?
This question may be a little difficult to answer but you may find the answer after you finish the rest of the questions. However, you need to be very clear about where you get your inspiration from. What are the types of things you find engaging and exciting?
Many people don’t do things because they are afraid to fail or they have failed in the past. If there is something that you would do for sure, if you knew there isn’t a chance whatsoever of failing, what would that be?
If you were forced to start over again, what would you do?
Many people find themselves in situations where they have fallen into a situation where they are not doing as they wish they were. They go to work because they have to, yet not enjoying a single day of it. Trust me, 95% of Ugandans go through this for 95% of their youthful life. So am asking You, If you started over again would you take advantage of the new beginning or would you go back to where you are? What would you do?
If money wasn’t an issue, what would you do?
Many people have dreams they wish to pursue, but they never attempt to move forward with the dreams because they cannot afford to get started. Think of what you would love to do if you had all the money to do it. This can be anything.
What is your biggest dream?
If you have a big dream, what is it? There must be something you really want to do that you dream about. It could be a dream you had as a child, but as you grew older, “reality”, “sanity”, “your parents’ vision of you” stole it away from you. Think about this one thing and focus on it real hard.
What is the biggest barrier stopping you from following your dream?
Name all of the things that have caused you to not follow your big dreams. These things could be people who do not support you, money, fears, and other things. There are many different types of barriers which can be overcome. You might not see opportunity or success with your dreams or you may fear that people would make fun of you. You might not even be skilled and lack talent. These could be barriers causing you not to move forward. What are those barriers?
What passion are you afraid of owning or admitting?
Many people have dreams and passions they are afraid to talk about out of fear of being made fun of by other people. You might think your passion is silly to other people. What is this one thing?
As a child, what did you really want to be?
Did you have dreams of becoming someone as a child and it didn’t turn out quite as expected? Do you still wonder what it would have been like, if you did follow your dreams as a child? If you had the opportunity, would you follow this dream today?
If you were going to die in the near future, what would you regret not doing?
Many people have regrets when they realize they are going to die real soon. It is often too late for many people to go back and change the things they missed out on. They would have lived their lives completely differently if they had the chance. If a doctor told you that you hadn’t any time left but a few weeks, then what would your regrets be? What would you want to do before your time was up? Now that you have answered these questions, you should have a good idea of some of the things that make you and your dreams happy. You need to have a clear idea of the things you have always dreamed to do. Just think about, if you won the lottery, what would you do with the money? What would you do with yourself? How would you treat the people in your life, your family and friends? Knowing these things is very important.