Ask Yourself These 3 Questions to Set Yourself on a Path to a Better Life Every thing that you do on a daily basis comes from a choice. Living a better life, building a more successful business and becoming happier all comes down to making better choices.
By Matt Mayberry Edited by Dan Bova
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
The power of choice is truly extraordinary. Choice is one of the few things that most people leave out of the equation when thinking about all of the reasons that separates those who achieve their biggest goals and dreams compared to those who don't. The one thing that each and every one of us has is the incredible potential to live a remarkable life and be great in our own right.
We choose our habits. We choose the action or lack of action that we are going to take on a daily basis. We choose how hard we work. We choose what we think about all day long. Every thing that you do on a daily basis comes from a choice. Living a better life, building a more successful business and becoming happier all comes down to making better choices.
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Here are three questions that can greatly benefit the direction and quality of your life if you begin asking and answering them regularly.
1. Where am I right now?
This is an extremely powerful question to ask because most people don't take even five minutes out of their days to think about where they currently are in life. They know deep down that they are miserable but they just continue to coast along the path they are headed down because they fail to ask this important question.
The key when asking this particular question is to be honest with yourself. When you are honest with yourself, you are offered the opportunity for growth that will in the long run help you get to where you want to go.
Some days I have setbacks and don't take strides forward, but as long as I am honest with myself when asking this question before I go to bed, I am able to know where I stand and what steps need to be taken to move forward. Take the time to analyze your life and really take a long and hard look at where you currently are.
2. Where do I want to be?
This question is all about what you want out of your life. What are you putting in the long hours for? What gets you so excited that it keeps you up at night? Once you know where you currently are in life, you then must analyze where you want to be.
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Most people have no clue where they want to be. They wake up in the morning 30 minutes before they have to be in the office, go to work, do enough to get the job done and then head home before they have to do it all over again. They follow this exact pattern for the next 40 years.
If you don't take the time to think about where you want to be, the circumstances of life and other people's agendas will determine that for you. You deserve better.
3. What are the steps needed to bridge the gap?
This third question is the one that requires the actual work and action, so it's the one that is easiest to neglect. After you discover where you currently are and where you want to be, the next question that you must ask yourself is what are all of the things that you must do to bridge the gap between the two. This is going to require several sessions of strategic thinking on your part, and may even take several weeks.
Another thing to note is that your answers to this question will never stop. As time goes on, more answers will come your way. The more you strategically think about what you have to do to get to where you want to go, the better and more efficient answers will begin coming to you.
Whether we are talking about an individual or organization, these are three questions that when answered carefully can dramatically increase efficiency, performance and motivation. I often write the above questions in my moleskin journal to constantly remind myself of my progress, then start the process of transferring all of the things that I have to do to my daily task list.
When you take time out to answer these questions regularly, you give your life meaning and purpose. The power of choice is truly extraordinary.
