These Questions Could Change Your Life
When you ask the right questions, you can change your life!
How often do you ask yourself important questions? How much time do you spend thinking about your answers to those questions and their implications? Some recent traumatic experiences and a book I’m currently reading have led me to question many things I used to believe.
It’s a painful process at times, but also life-changing. The time I spend asking questions and pondering my answers to them has helped me clarify my values and figure out the kind of life I want. It’s inspired me to embrace new possibilities and make different choices that are enabling me to change my life.
For example, I asked myself how I felt about the cruel and abusive behavior of some church members and leaders, and the refusal of others to condemn it. I realized that I find both equally appalling, and have no desire to return to my previous career as a pastor.
I’m no longer willing to remain silent about the false ideology of Christian Nationalism. Too much harm is being caused by the lies, hate speech, and violence some Christians have embraced. I cannot ignore that, or pretend that their beliefs and actions do not contradict the teachings of Jesus and the way he treated marginalized people.
But enough about me. Here are some of the most important questions I encourage you to ask yourself. I think these questions and your answers to them have the potential to change your life. They are the same questions that are helping me change mine.
What are my core beliefs about myself, love, work, money, faith, and life?
Who (or what experiences) led me to believe each one?
How does each belief affect my life now?
How does each one affect my ability to change any aspect of my life I don’t like?
What could happen if I questioned or rejected any of these beliefs?
Do I want to add to or replace any of these beliefs?
If so, what would I like to believe, and why?
Does my current life reflect the beliefs that are most important to me?
If not, what changes can I make so my life more closely matches my beliefs?
What do I need to learn and do to make those changes?
I’d love to hear your thoughts about this list of questions. Do you find it helpful? Are there others you would add? What answers immediately come to mind as you read each question? Do those answers change if you spend more time thinking about them?
Please leave a comment to share your opinion of this list and/or your answer to any of the questions.
Very provocative questions. My core beliefs about myself are that I am a small human being living on a large planet in a large solar system. I am a speck of dust. All of this is very humbling, but, in spite of my utter insignificance, I believe in living a big life with a big purpose. In most everything we do, we touch the lives of others, and that is a great gift and an enormous honor and responsibility. This awareness gives me comfort and purposeful motivation every day of my life. 
More great practical advice. Perhaps having someone to talk the answers through with (and even ask the questions) is helpful, as we are not always objective about ourselves... a friend or a therapist?