Questions to ask yourself to improve your philosophy of life
Have you ever stopped to wonder why you do the things you do? Our choices shape the life we live.
These choices are made according to our life experience and worldview.
The experiences of our past, whether good or bad, help influence the way we perceive and interact with the world today. Sometimes we experience good things and we say 'Yes! I agree with this, this is what I want to put out into the world'. A person can be generous in helping us through a difficult time. Their care and attention can inspire us to do the same for others.
Sometimes we experience bad things and these bad things tell us who we don't want to be in the future or what we want to avoid. Someone else's bad behavior can inspire us to stand up for someone else, to change something about our own life, or to change a belief.
Building a personal philosophy is a distillation of the shaped worldview down to a few key points that determine who we are at our core. It is the core of our beliefs and how we interact with the world. In all likelihood, you already have some kind of personal code: Conditionings. Your personal philosophy of life plays a big role in transforming these conditioning.
Unlocking your personal philosophy is less about development and more about peeling back the layers imposed on you by society, family and life's expectations. This does not mean that you cannot grow or change your values.
In fact, it would be strange if you had the same values and beliefs for a long time. Ideally, life is about engaging in some study and contemplation about what is going on in life and determining your rights from wrongs.
As you gain more knowledge and experience, you will undoubtedly have the opportunity to determine for yourself that some of your original beliefs and perceptions were right and some were wrong. Sometimes you won't realize that you don't have enough information to make an accurate assessment until this clarifying information is presented to you.
So the question is: How can I peel back these layers to get to the core of who I am? Get yourself a pen and paper and think about the following questions.
What am I most passionate about in life? What are you passionate about in life? Passion can be thought of in two ways. The first and most obvious is something that makes you feel alive or wonderful. Many people focus only on this aspect of passion. The other aspect of passion is what drives you forward, and that doesn't always feel good. A person who is passionate about animals might choose to volunteer at an animal shelter. This can be an emotionally challenging and difficult environment when abused animals need to be brought in. Yet, it can be the reason why that person gets out of bed in the morning.
What inspires you? What makes you move? What helps you to keep going in difficult times?
What does your ideal life look like? Everyone wants different things from life. Some people want to be free. Others want a stable home life where they can grow old quietly with their partner. Some people want to live life on their own terms, without any influence from others. Others feel more comfortable as a smaller piece of a much bigger puzzle. Describe what your ideal life looks like.