Even though some people don’t bother engaging in it, personal growth is important for most of us. Developing things like our knowledge, skills, habits, beliefs, and behavior helps us to understand ourselves and the world around us better. It improves our quality of life and gives us the ability to formulate and go after goals that we actually want, rather than what other people want us to go after.
But where do you start? How do you get on a path of personal development that enriches your life? You ask the right questions for personal growth. You take a deep dive into your mind and get real with yourself as you answer important questions that give you the clarity to go forward.
31 Questions That Will Help You Get On A Personal Growth Path That Benefits You
With the right questions, you can decide how you want to go forward with your personal growth. You don’t need to do what Dean or Colleen are doing. There is no one right path for everyone. With the right questions and answers, you can choose courses, books, challenges, and other tools that actually benefit YOU and what you want most out of life.
In short, the right questions will help you pick the personal growth goals that will add happiness and success to your life. So, pick some questions from below and reflect on them for further clarity on what want to do first, or next, in your personal growth journey.
1. What is my life vision?
Without a life vision, you will float around in life with no real direction, bouncing from one idea to the next.
And, when confronted with a personal growth option without a life vision, you can’t decide what choice to make because you don’t know which choice will help you move further towards the future you actually want.
It’s important to get clear on your life vision and where you are heading.
If you need help figuring out what you want most in life, there are programs that can help you do that, such as Lifebook.
2. What fears do I need to let go of?
Fear is a constant part of life. Pushing through our fears is important for personal growth. Some fears can keep us stuck for a lifetime if we let them.
For instance, if you are fearful of doing new things because the last time you tried it was a complete failure, then that’s holding you back from discovering new things about yourself and pushing the boundaries of your comfort zone, both of which are important for personal growth.
If you let that fear hold you back for a lifetime… well, you get it. And it happens! I know an older man who hasn’t tried anything new for 30 years because of his fear. It’s very sad.
3. Am I accepting of other people?
If the answer is no, who is it that you don’t accept?
Someone with a different viewpoint than you?
Someone who does things their own way?
Someone who doesn’t line up with what you think is normal?
Take a deep look at who you can’t accept and then dig into why that is. This will set you on a path towards understanding other people, having compassion and acceptance, and living in a state where other people’s choices in life don’t soak up a lot of your time and energy.
4. What negative traits do I have now that I had when I was younger?
Personal growth is about growing as a person, so it’s important to clearly recognize what negative traits you’ve brought with you from a young age.
Were you a bully when you were younger and still feel that sense of entitlement now?
Or were you the opposite and never stood up for yourself when you were younger and have carried that lack of confidence into your adulthood?
Did you procrastinate, complain, or get upset a lot?
Think about being younger and what you found to be negative about yourself. Can you see those traits in your current life? How can you go forward to eradicate them?
5. What skills do I have and how can I develop them?
You are probably good at something – or a few things.
By recognizing your skills, you can harness their power by becoming better at them and letting them help you in other areas of your life.
For instance, if you are a good listener, how can you become a better listener? How can better listening skills help you in your professional, social, and spiritual life?
6. How can I better look after my health?
Your health is central to your personal growth. If you are unhealthy, that affects every area of your life negatively, and it makes personal growth a challenge.
Therefore, ask yourself how you can better look after your health and then choose one or two things to do going forward.
This is one of those personal growth questions you should always be asking yourself as you go through life. Health is a constant thing that needs to be looked after.
7. What’s possible for me?
Take some time to reflect on this question without a negative or limiting mindset.
In fact, act as though you have a very positive mindset and are capable of overcoming challenges and working towards anything you truly want. You will be surprised at the answers you come up with and some of them are going to set you on a personal growth path that will be very rewarding for you.
8. How can I make this world a better place?
Answering this question could change your entire life. It may affect your diet, your habits, your relationships, or your career.
A lot of people think that making the world a better place is the ultimate goal of life. Whether you are improving the lives of your family or strangers, doing something that matters can give you a sense of fulfillment that can’t be obtained from anywhere else.
9. What do I dislike about myself?
If you are not sure how to answer this, then notice when you complain about yourself.
Do you complain that you are fat, lazy, stupid, or unlovable?
Do you complain that you are no good at something and never will be?
Something else?
Dig into those complaints, and where the issues stem from, and you will find things you don’t like about yourself. Perhaps you will find a lack of motivation or self-discipline or focus.
Then get to work on turning those things on their head so that you can feel better about yourself and work on your personal growth.
10. What makes me unique?
Sometimes we get stuck in the collective mindset and think we need to be a certain way or do a certain thing. This can keep us from our own personal growth path.
Therefore, it’s important to ask yourself what makes you unique.
As you start to uncover the traits, experiences, and beliefs that make you unique, you can start to get a clearer picture of what specific personal growth you want to experience.
11. How is my self-confidence?
Self-confidence is a trait that will allow you to work on personal growth.
When you feel confident enough in yourself to create new habits, try new things, and develop new awareness, your personal growth naturally follows.
It’s very important to recognize where you are when it comes to self-confidence and then work on building up your self-confidence so you can recognize your worth and do what you want to do in your life.
12. Do I understand what my body language is saying to me and others?
Research has shown that the right body language can help you impact other people’s lives in a positive way. It can also help you interact with other people more effectively and convey a sense of confidence and assertiveness to others.
In fact, by understanding how body language works, you can use it to your advantage to feel and look more confident and put yourself out there for personal growth.
How you carry yourself, the hand gestures you use, and how you deal with eye contact all affect how you feel and how other people see you, as well as how willing you are to work on yourself and put yourself out there.
If you don’t know what your body language is saying to you and others, then it’s time to learn about it.
13. Am I proactive?
If you are not proactive, you are going to have a hell of a time working on your personal growth. Being proactive means taking action over a situation and causing something to happen rather than just sitting back and responding to what happens.
Think back to the times that you’ve put yourself out there and tried to actively make something happen in your life or in someone else’s life and compare that to the times you’ve just waited to see what happens. Soon you will have an idea of how proactive you are in life and whether or not this is a trait you need to work on so that you can take control over your personal growth.
14. How do I handle stress?
There’s always going to be shit that happens in life. Your ability to deal with that shit is very important.
Stress can affect how your ability to work on personal growth. If you are stressed out, you can make yourself sick, both physically and mentally, and you can find yourself putting your life off as you deal with the negative emotions and other symptoms that come from being stressed out.
If you find that you don’t deal with stress very well, I recommend that you work on how you talk to yourself through affirmations. Self-talk can play a big part in how you view things (especially stressful things) and how you deal with them.
You can also find some stress-reducing techniques with Paul McKenna in his course Everyday Bliss.
15. Where do I spend most of my time? The present, the past, or the future?
The ability to start your personal growth journey depends on recognizing where you’ve gone wrong and where you want to be.
But the present is where you will always take action on your personal growth. You got to be in the here and now to take action.
It’s very important to be mindful and strive to live in the moment as you work on yourself. It’s going to help you reduce emotions like regret and worry that hold you back from growing as a person. And it’s going to give you the ability to acknowledge the abundance and beauty of the moment and your ability to do what needs to be done.
16. Do I have a growth mindset?
Consistent personal growth requires a growth mindset.
A growth mindset fosters a state of mind where you believe you can grow and will grow despite what’s happening.
A growth mindset helps you see the possibilities and move through the feeling that things are not possible for you.
And, a growth mindset helps you recognize that time and effort are necessary for growth, which motivates you to do what needs to be done for personal growth.
17. Am I holding onto the past?
Are you holding onto something that’s keeping you from growing?
Maybe you are holding onto an outdated vision for yourself.
Or maybe you are holding onto the pain and regret of something that happened in your past, and it’s keeping you from experiencing the personal growth you desire.
Take a deep look at your past and what you haven’t been able to let go of, and then work on letting it go so that you can become more present and capable of doing what you want to do.
18. What limiting beliefs am I holding onto?
You have formed some limiting beliefs that are keeping you from working on your personal growth. I can almost guarantee it. Limiting beliefs form when we have bad experiences in life.
For instance, if you lost your job, you may hold the limiting belief that you are not good enough to work in that field anymore.
It’s extremely important to uncover your limiting beliefs and then work on replacing them with more empowering beliefs if you want to go forward with personal growth.
It can be hard to uncover yourself limiting beliefs on your own because they naturally feel like true and concrete beliefs, so I recommend taking a course such as Unlimited Abundance so that you can dig into your current beliefs and discover which ones are limiting you.
19. Where am I wasting my time?
How do you spend your time? Do you spend 80% of it watching TV or YouTube videos? Could that time be better utilized? Possibly for personal growth?
It’s very important to pay attention to your time and how you are using it. Your time is limited in this life, so don’t waste it. If you want to work on personal growth, you need to make time for that.
Figure out where you are wasting your time and then replace that time with personal growth. You will never regret it.
20. How’s my emotional intelligence?
You may be smart intellectually, but how is your ability to perceive and manage your emotions and the emotions of others?
Emotional intelligence is essential for personal growth. It affects many areas of your life.
For personal growth, it helps you recognize issues that need to be worked on and gives you the ability to move past negative obstacles and overcome challenges with confidence, empathy, and a positive attitude.
21. How do others perceive me? And how do I want others to perceive me?
Are you friendly, helpful, and loving, or are you short-tempered, self-absorbed, and judgemental? If you don’t know, ask other people to tell you honestly how they see you, but be ready for some real answers!
If you think others perceive you in a way you want to be perceived, then great. But, if you want others to view you in a different way, then you will have a good idea of what you need to work on in regard to your personal growth.
22. Am I enough?
If you answer no to this, then you need to listen to Marisa Peer talk about why you are enough. She says that the common denominator to all your problems (including the inability to work on personal growth effectively) is not believing you are enough.
When you believe you are enough, you can stop beating yourself up and accept yourself, flaws and all. And you will solidify the belief that you are worth the personal growth you go after.
23. What makes me truly happy?
Take some time to reflect on what makes you truly happy in life, as well as whether or not you are spending most of your time doing what makes you happy. If you find that what makes you truly happy isn’t a big part of your life, then it’s time to switch up how you spend your time.
When you are happy, you are more willing and able to work on your personal growth. When you are miserable, the idea of personal growth can feel exhausting or like a waste of time.
For example, I know a woman who believes life is supposed to suck and that doing things that makes her unhappy is just a part of this shitty life. She doesn’t care about personal growth because there’s no point! Life is going to suck no matter what she does, so why bother?
24. Do I feel grateful in life?
I have never read one book or taken one course that did not talk about the importance of gratitude in life.
When it comes to personal growth, gratitude allows you to appreciate where you are and the tools at your disposal to grow as a human being.
You will feel a sense of excitement about life when you are truly grateful.
You will also fast track your personal growth because you will see the good that happens and the progress that you are making much more clearly when you actively feel grateful in your life.
25. How honest am I?
One thing that will hinder your personal growth is dishonesty.
Being dishonest with yourself will keep you from recognizing what you want most in life and doing what you want to do.
And being dishonest with other people will keep you from being yourself when you are around them and even when you are alone.
Dishonesty will also lower your self-worth and skew the image of yourself and who you think you are.
26. How’s my willpower?
Personal growth often happens when you are able to restrain yourself from doing the same old thing. Willpower helps you get out of a rut and into a new way of living.
Willpower also helps you do what you need to do. It’s a driving force behind sticking with your commitments.
How is your willpower? How does it affect your personal growth, and how can you cultivate more of it so that you can do what you need to do for personal growth?
27. How’s my focus? How can I improve it?
Can you keep your attention on one thing at a time? If you can, congratulations. A lot of people are pulled from social media to news to checking their phone and back around again.
Focus is important for personal growth. You need to be able to take the class, read the book, have the discussion, or try the new thing without a million different things pulling your attention away. You will experience more benefits with good focus, such as a better understanding of what you are learning.
28. Do I let others dictate my life?
You are responsible for yourself and your path in life, but it’s very easy to let others dictate your life.
I’m sure you’ve heard stories of people who were told they would never walk again. If they let their doctor dictate their actions, then they would likely not do anything to attempt to walk again. But the people who do walk again are often the people who take action and work on walking again.
Other people might not outright tell you what you can and can’t do. They may influence you in some way or express their disgust when you are not doing something in line with what they think is right. Alternatively, they may praise you when you are doing something that they think is right. And you may let their disgust or praise influence what you do with your life.
For instance, if you tell someone you want to be a writer, and they brush it off and act as though you are talking nonsense, then you may be inclined to do something else so that you don’t have to see their look of disapproval every time you talk to them about what you are doing.
How are you letting others dictate your life?
29. If I were to attend a college class tomorrow, what would I want it to be focused on?
This is a great question to help you dig into what you want to work on most. We’ve all been to a school where we were forced to go to classes that didn’t interest us, but after school, we get to learn about things that do interest us.
What is the number one thing you want to learn about?
30. Where does my comfort zone end?
Recognizing where your comfort zone ends can help you to push yourself out of it and experience personal growth.
For instance, are you comfortable with talking to people online but not in person? This is something you should work on for personal growth. Making connections with people in person can help you achieve new heights that you may not have thought possible before. Moreover, being comfortable in social settings will allow you to get out there and engage in new opportunities.
Where do you see your limits in terms of comfort and what can you do to expand them?
31. How can I motivate myself for personal growth?
This is an important question to ask yourself before you get on the personal growth path. It’s important to have some serious motivation to keep you moving forward and trying new things.
List out all the reasons you have to engage in personal growth.
For instance:
- I want to live a happier life.
- I don’t want to be like my dad/mom.
- I want to end my life feeling like I gave it my all.
- I want to be the best version of myself for my partner.
- I want to contribute to a global issue.
The more emotion you feel when listing it, the more powerful it will be as a motivator for you going forward.
When you know why you want to engage in personal growth, it’s going to make doing it a million times easier.
