Self-Reflective Questions

Knowing yourself means knowing what kind of a person you are and to truly understand who you really are. Knowing yourself is knowing wisdom. You need to understand your own emotions, beliefs, and desires first before you can find wisdom within yourself and understand someone else’s feelings, beliefs, and desires. Here are some of the Self-Reflective Questions that can help you know yourself well.

1. Why are you passionate about what you do? 

For me, doing something we really love means passion. You can only be passionate over something you do when you like doing it or when you love the idea of doing it. If someone is doing his/her profession or job just for the sake of income or formality then there’s a higher possibility that he/she is not doing it right. Like for example, a writer. You will know if the writer is passionate about what she is writing or if she’s just doing it out of financial matters or whatnots. A person’s passion always reflects on his works, because if you like what you are doing you will surely do better than those whose only doing it out of will.

I naturally like kids, even before. I don’t have any younger siblings or cousins but I am fond of my neighbors’ kids that I sometimes play with them. I don’t know why but I just really love their innocent laughs. This fondness leads me in choosing my course for college. We all know that choosing the right course or the course you wanted is not easy because you wouldn’t know if it will be going according to your expectations. But since this is my passion so I continue striving hard to reach it.

2. Where do you see yourself in five years’ time? 

We really can’t tell what would happen many years from now. Or even next year, we couldn’t tell what would happen to us. There may be some decisions we have to take that can change the life we planned or some incidents that may change the future we always imagined. But, I believe in God’s will. And if he allows my plans then I will say that I can see myself teaching in a public elementary school at day, and writing a novel in my own house at night. This is how I visualize myself five years from now. 

3. What are your most thankful for? What is the biggest decision you’ve had to make?

There are plenty of decisions that I made and considered as the biggest decisions in my life. One of those decisions is when I need to choose about what course to take in college. This decision is hard for me but I’m still thankful to God who guides me for not regretting it later on and for my loved ones are there to always support me.

Choosing a course in college is already hard because this will be the key to your future. But what if you choose the wrong course, right? Or what if you realized that it is not the kind of profession you wanted? You just waste your time for nothing then.

I came from a family of Engineers and Teachers so it is just expected for me to follow my elder’s path. My parents told me to choose between the two. I haven’t made my decision at that time yet and I really find it hard to choose since I like both. Yes, I like both. Since I was 7 years old, I started to like drawings and sketches, and sometimes I draw buildings or my houses too. Meanwhile, I also like teaching kids and being with kids all day.

This is the time when I realize that I’m already grown up and I need to make a life-changing decision that can change or affect my future. I am a kid no more. This time, it is me who decides and not my parents. I need to choose something that I will not regret sooner or later. But I also realize that no matter what we choose, we need to fight and stand for it so we won’t regret it in the end. Regret is not for choosing the wrong course, but for giving it up without a fight.

4. What was the best phase in your life?

Although many say that high school is the best part of their life, even I agree with that, but I can say that the best phase in my life is when I enter college. Why? Because even if we only have limited time to enjoy and relax, I’ve realized and learned many things in this stage of my life. Not just unending happiness with my friends but also hardship, decision makings, and survival.

I am still with my high school friends, that’s what makes my college life bearable and fun. Because I can see that even if we seldom saw each other or hang out with each other, we have the same determination to succeed and graduate. We matured, yes, because that is how life is supposed to be. We can’t continue to be young and simple-minded forever. We need to grow up for us to realize our purpose. The best phase in my life is when I started to think and act like the grown-up I am.

5. What inspires you the most?

We can actually get inspiration everywhere. Even when we woke up, we can be inspired because God gives us another day to spend. A simple flower or even a stranger’s smile can also inspire you. For me, my mother is my greatest inspiration. She is the reason why I always strive hard in my studies. She is the reason why I wanted to graduate quickly because I wanted her to stop working and just let me do the job and provide for our family. I wanted her to live in comfort because she deserves that. She’s the reason why I cannot give up even if things got harder.

People or things can inspire us the most. Because this inspiration gives us the determination to continue and keep moving forward, and it gives us strengths to achieve everything we wanted.

Getting to know yourself is important because it gives you self-awareness, it can also improve your self-confidence, and it may also give you awareness not just for yourself but also for other people or the people around you. Understanding your bests and your shortfalls can make your relationship with yourself better and at peace. 

“In order to be yourself, you have to know yourself” by Dr. Mariette Jansen