6 Questions That Will Jump-Start Your Personal Growth in The New Year
How to begin the new year on the right track
The end of the year is always a period of reflection and planning.
We set ambitious goals for the new year. Last year’s ideas get a makeover. And most importantly, we envision a fresh start — a treasure trove full of novel projects and opportunities.
Around December 31st, we come up with New Year’s resolutions.
Most of these include physical goals like weight loss, financial targets like saving 10k, and personal challenges like reading 50 books.
These resolutions, however, rarely succeed.
Without the right attitude, daily habits, and long-term vision, the chance of turning ambitious projects into reality is minuscule.
Consequently, we need to define what kind of journey we want to begin. Before trying to reach a particular destination, we need to find the right mode of transport.
That’s where effective questioning comes into play.
As Mahatma Gandhi once said:
“Persistent questioning and healthy inquisitiveness are the first requisite for acquiring learning of any kind.”
By asking the right questions, you learn how to set ambitious goals and accompany them with realistic habits. As such, intense questioning will teach you how to concentrate your efforts in the right areas.
In other words, questions can help you determine what kind of journey will get you closer toward your goals.
On this basis, here are six questions that will jump-start your personal growth in the new year.
1. Who writes the script for my life?
Before taking on any kind of personal growth endeavor, ask yourself who is in control of your life.
Imagine your life as a movie. Who or what decides what you see on screen? Where do the decisions that determine the movie’s scenes originate? And finally, what kind of factors influence the movie’s plot?
If you want to change the movie’s plot, you need creative control. You don’t just want to be an actor. To manage your life, you need to become the screenwriter, director, producer, and lead actor — all at once.
Gaining control over your life — and regulating its direction — requires various elements:
- Reduce your commitments. Find out how many obligations fill your schedule and which ones are essential and non-essential.
- Identify your core values. What are your primary principles in life?
- Do your values shape your priorities? Are you organizing your life according to value-driven norms?
- How do your values and priorities impact your everyday routines?
As an example, you might have committed to spending long hours in the office. Your boss is pleased, and you believe that tiresome shifts will help you ascend the corporate ladder. One of your core values, however, is freedom. Your goal is to become financially independent and live on your own terms.
As such, your commitment conflicts with one of your primary values. Your current priority — ascending the corporate ladder — doesn’t coincide with your values. The result is visible in your everyday life, and this routine prevents you from taking the steps that could lead to financial freedom.
2. Does my past influence my present?
If you want a better future, you first need to resolve your past.
Many of us did some things in the past that we aren’t proud of today.
There are two ways to deal with those issues: you can either sweep them under the rug or forgive yourself, identify their lessons, and move on.
The problem with ignoring past mistakes is that they will continue to impact your life below the surface.
As an example, you might have ended a relationship with a former business partner on bad terms. Unless you resolve it, you’ll always have a subconscious fear that the next business relationship could take a similar route.
The past can affect our present by subconsciously hampering our projects. That’s why you should question your past’s influence before setting resolutions that will shape your future.
In the words of LifeHack,
“Be true to yourself and forgive yourself. If it is an issue with another person, you can reach out to the person to settle with them. If it is a secret that is now being leaked out, own up to it, take responsibility, and move on.”
Consequently, question the repercussions of past events on your current self. If there are unresolved issues, secure their positive resolution before committing to new ambitious projects.
3. Are my daily actions aligned with my long-term goals?
The next life-changing question concerns the alignment of your daily actions and long-term goals.
The main problem with new year’s resolutions is that people set audacious goals without building corresponding habits.
In this context, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck author Mark Manson writes the following:
“People tend to bite off more than they can chew, so to speak, setting goals that are far above their ability or knowledge level and then becoming frustrated when they make little to no progress towards them.”
Consequently, if you want to formulate ambitious long-term goals, get your daily routine sorted first.
Question your habits.
You want to start a writing business. Are you already writing every day? Your goals for next year include a fit summer body? Are you already a gym rat? And reading 50 books in a year is another one of your targets. Is reading one hour per day a realistic prospect in your life?
These questions will measure the feasibility of your goals. If you haven’t built the right habits yet, focus on your routines before drafting bold new year’s resolutions.
4. Am I working hard enough on the right things?
In today’s world, the hustle culture is more present than ever.
Work hard — play hard.
The mantra has no intrinsic flaws, but I would add another dimension:
Work hard on the right things and play hard when it makes sense.
Our current hustle culture has one massive problem. People start to believe that hard work is the solution to everything. In that same vein, many people feel that excessive enjoyment is the only possible reward.
However, working hard is only one part of the puzzle.
According to Forbes:
“In the current terrain of economic uncertainty, seeing and seizing new types of opportunity is the key to your success. As such, working harder and trying to impress your boss with longer hours just isn’t enough.”
Consequently, don’t try to be busy by completing long shifts if you’re unsure whether you’re working on the right projects.
Hard work will pay off if you direct your efforts toward the right areas.
Combining your discipline with an eye for novel opportunities, mentorship, and high-impact activities will determine your ultimate success. In other words, Pareto your efforts to maximize the results of your hard work.
And when it comes to playing, don’t just play hard to counterbalance hard work. Don’t spend long hours in the office just to feel “entitled” to be drunk every weekend.
There is no substitute for hard work, but hard work isn’t enough. Along similar lines, playing hard isn’t a worthwhile reward for busyness. Playing hard is a suitable reward for reaching milestones through smart decisions and productivity.
Question whether you’re focusing your efforts on the right endeavors and play when you have something to celebrate, not as a means to balance out your exhaustion.
5. Am I longing for an abstract destination, or do I enjoy the journey?
Much like working too hard, many people stop having fun as a result of overthinking their goals.
Goals are one thing, but the journey toward those goals is often a much more life-changing experience.
Ask yourself: am I making myself miserable to attain a particular destination, or am I enjoying the ride?
If you’re working endless hours, living on a shoestring budget, or forgoing simple pleasures — all in pursuit of a goal — you should question whether the end justifies the means.
The line is often thin, but once you launch a thorough self-reflective process, you’ll find a better balance between setting ambitious goals and safeguarding your life’s pleasures.
6. Which stations did I already pass and why?
Finally, for any personal growth endeavor, it’s essential to analyze your progress.
However, finding out where you’re at is only the first step. Assessing which stations you passed — and why — is another crucial element of jump-starting your personal growth in the new year.
In early 2019, I became a digital nomad. The first year was tough, and I made countless mistakes. I traveled across Asia and spent too little time in each location. The result was a sea of lost travel opportunities. I also failed to score as many new clients as I’d hoped and paid for it with lower rates.
On the positive side, my income grew, and I progressively improved my lifestyle. At the end of that year, I took a deep breath and started reflecting on the year’s trials and triumphs.
I had reached the first station — becoming a digital nomad — and this was thanks to hard work, smart decisions, and minimalism. The second station — building my ideal remote entrepreneurial lifestyle — proved more challenging. I didn’t plan my travels enough and underestimated the toils of freelance writing. As such, I hadn’t yet passed the second station.
Thanks to this end of the year reflection, I identified the stations that I had already passed — giving me a sense of pride and fulfillment — without becoming overconfident.
I knew what the next stations should be and why I hadn’t crossed them yet.
The questions helped me formulate realistic goals for 2020 — accompanied by the right habits — and even though the world went to shreds, I managed to attain nearly all of my targets this year.