I'm fascinated by questions, like Kevin Kelly said "in this time, answers are cheap, questions are most valuable".
Questions can be used for a broad spectrum of purposes: from introspection, to envisioning, to plain curiosity and understanding. This set of questions that I have harvested over time are mostly grouped as tools for self-discovery, introspection and decision making.
Focus & Prioritize
What am I really trying to achieve here? @JamesClear
What is the one change that will move the needle in the right direction? To find next step priority. Ce
Whats the smallest step I can do now to improve my process? @MiguelG007
What problem am I trying to solve? @DanielBeadle
is this the best use of my time and energy? @DanielBeadle
Is this what I should be doing, in this moment?" @AlexDuff99
What is the one thing I can do such that by doing it everything will be easier or unnecessary? The 1 thing
If I am saying yes to this, what am I saying no to? Opportunity cost. @Josh_Sexton85
If this is my last act on Earth, is it what I’d want it to be? @suzmatth
What's the most important thing right now? Josh Waitzkin? @MLQuotes1
What am I spending most of my time on? Is it worth it? Ce
Could I outsource this —or not do it— for less than my hourly rate? Naval
What is the value I'm creating here? @dayegol
What’s my life's ultimate purpose? @praveesh
What am I willing to struggle/suffer for? @Bast1nou
What are you willing to do about it? @MrCaplan
If not me, who? If not now, when? Emma Watson
Will I look back on my choice and be proud of the one I chose? @tomertim
When I'm old, sitting in my porch and looking back in my life, will I regret not having done enough of this? Porch test question. Also known as "Front porch test". Author Unknown.
What would be the minimum outcome I want to get out of this negotiation? Ce
“Whose task is this?” (Related to separation of tasks from The Courage To Be Disliked) @thisiskp_
What would tomorrow-me think? @YakshaNZ
If I were being great right now, what would it look like? To stop judging myself and help embrace the reality in front of me and identify one thing I could do to help. @alexmdorr
If i had the power to magically get only ONE thing done, with the caveat that all others cannot then be done— which of the tasks would I DEFINITELY want to get done? I start with that one. The truly important. @_zenx_
If today was my last day what would I do? @jvhak
Am I applying my honest effort or am I half-assing this? @RenaisanceTitan
What’s going well? What can be better? How is it going to get better? @abharris03
Envisioning - To open possibilities that I'm not seeing
What else is possible?
What do I want my normal day to look like? rather than asking What do I want my best day to look like? @JamesClear
What problems would I enjoy solving every day? @btelks
What are 3 extraordinary questions I could ask right now? Really opens my brain up. @RichardWJackson
What am I grateful for? @bynayd
What do I want to feel right now?; What do I want The Other to feel?; Am I rehearsing my best self? Adam Robinson
Am I being my best self right now? Unknown
How would it feel to x? To follow the curiosity and create more of x in your life
What good shall I do today? Benjamin Franklin started his day by asking himself this question
Perspective & Introspect
What things still hook you? To find attachments, dependencies and things to let go, by Aubrey Marcus
Am I really listening? Am I deeply listening? Am I truly listening or just trying to interject? To listen more deeply
What am I unwilling to feel here? To find out what I'm avoiding which typically causes other issues @theresiatanzil
What is my role in this conversation? Helps me stop the "advice giving" instinct that is so annoying and makes me a much better listener. @AvalancheJohn
What are you constantly avoiding? This is probably the most important thing I should be addressing and can least afford to postpone. @Knipps Apply for finding out on procrastination @csuitethinker
Is everything already okay? (or Is this just natural?). Should I do nothing in this moment and just let things be like they are? @ankschoubey
What would the best version of me do in this situation? @bri_skywalkerr
Is this something future me would feel happy / proud about having done? @SamKaizen
What would it look this if this were easy? @theresiatanzil To avoid overcomplicate / overthink / overengineer things.
How would the person I’d like to be, do the things I am about to do? @flordeamancaes
What is my 80/20 in this situation? What's the pareto thing i can work on right now? @TekMind_Inc @ashokatluri
Whose expectations am I trying to fulfill? And do they fit to me and the actual situation? @MrGrokNRoll
What are you really mad at? @mattyjesq
Am I taking from or giving to my future self? When deciding between short term vs long term gain. @theresiatanzil
Is this an easy or hard choice? From "Hard choices, easy life. Easy choices, hard life" Jerzy Gregorek
What am I pretending not to notice? @theDanKelly
How can I enjoy the process? @_curious_mind
Am I being part of the problem or part of the solution? Unknown.
Could I leave this (person/situation/place) in better shape than I found it? Ce
5 Whys Sakichi Toyoda
Am I asking a genuine question? Or seeking reassurance of my beliefs? Assess openness. @JNKreuz
Do I truly have an objection or is my pride/ego taking over? For debates @ericzanol
Does this conversation help me/us progress or resolve this matter? @BetaLucca1
What would have to change to change my mind? Helps you determine where you might have blind spots, be biased, or be holding onto an old idea. @SageInstituteFA Also, good question for the other person before spending time on a debate @ajay_dave1
Why am I so lucky? @lethrolenti
How did I get so lucky? Dain Heer
Is this thought true? Can I know that this is true? The Work of Byron Katie @CharityDani912
Is it true? Is it kind? Is it necessary? Bernard Meltzer @EmraniMd
Who would I be without the stories I tell myself? Katie Byrne
Who would I be without my limiting beliefs? Katie Byrne
What are my assumptions and how can I test them? Working under false assumptions almost always leads to bad results. @benjamingreve
Am I being present? @JGelnar7
Are you REALLY living? @johnsouth33
How could I be more embodied? Ce
How could I taste more? Touch more? Happier podcast Gretchen Ruby
Aside from my thoughts, am I okay? @heywardboyce
Did I seize the day, b4 it turned yesterday? @Chandan10757200
Where are you trending? To reflect on current habits and thinking patterns. @andy_bush58
What am I not saying that needs to be said? What am I saying that’s not being heard? What’s being said that I’m not hearing? Jerry Colonna @patrickraynolds
Who would I be if I followed my curiosity and allowed myself to just play? Ce
If my children were asking for advice, what would I say? To not let ourselves accept/compromise on things we would never let our kids accept/compromise on. @_SelenaSparks
What do you want more of? What do you want less of? @marcscheff
Am i in the wrong? or What if i am wrong? @andersthue
How are they right? Especially when the person in question is clearly horribly wrong. @adriancharles
Is there another way I’d like to look at this? @jdfehnel
Am I doing enough pay back to the community for what it gave me? @kentorre2
Is what I intend to do now aligned with what I wanted earlier? You can't consider the value of a pivot if you don't realize it's happening. @salwilliam
Did I learn something?" and if I did, "how will I use it?" @ChristineWare
What did I learn? Especially interesting when something goes wrong. Ce
What's going to change in next 10 years? What's NOT going to change in next 10 years? Is it going to matter after next '10 minutes' or '10 months' or '10 years'? To improve your thought process towards life as well as towards investment @AnyBodyCanFly
What emotional and habitual encumbrances are hidden in everyday things that I do? @thechaz
What part of this situation is under my control? @lpolovets
Am I really the "victim" here or could I have done something differently to avoid this? @IAmKrishnadasKP
What's happening right now? Without judgements on whether it's good/bad or how I plan to react next, just observing. @kasiahayden
What do this other person (spouse, family member, friend, boss, etc) need and how can I give it to them? Roberto Abadie
What is right about this that I am not seeing? To help bring a new perspective and see the silver lining. Access Consciousness.
Is there going to be a better time than now to do this? To avoid pushing things I know I need to do into the future. To balance with: Is this the best moment to be doing this? Ce.
What is the cost of doing/not doing this? To understand hidden impact of my choices. Ce
Are we a visual kinesthetic or auditory processor? Do you like to control things or let things rip in a more relaxed way? What are the patterns behind your greatest successes, and what are the patterns behind you biggest errors? What are the things that have driven your greatest insights, and what are the things that have locked you up most in life? Josh Waitzkin
How does the curve graph look like on this? Is this accelerating or slowing down? Is this improving or getting worse? Is conflict more common or less common?
What if I said no? How can I be stronger for this? Does anger make this better? Am I being kind or clever? Is this getting me closer to my ideal life? Why do I care what they think? Is this something only I can do? What can I let go of? Ryan Holiday
What am I holding on to that I need to let go? James Clear
Who/what owns you? @TiborTot_
Foster improvement
How would x (mentor/writer/thinker/person) think/do in this situation? Ce
Why do my mentors think differently on this issue? @sid_ris
“How can you achieve your 10 year plan in the next 6 months?” — Peter Thiel
Who could I ask to improve this outcome? @tomertim
How would it look at the end if this was a total success for me? Rachel Smith
What have I been resisting to change that is obvious to everyone around me? Ce
What is my blocker to moving this project forward? @collinscentral
What is the worst thing that could happen if I attempt this? @btelks
How could I break this down? Divide and conquer @yaboyabgz
What could be the smallest step I can take to start solving this larger problem? Rachel Simmons
Am I taking enough risks? Ce
Am I asking the right questions? @SathyaSundarS1
In the big scheme of things, will this issue even matter? Perspective. @RourkeDiane
What am I demanding out of this moment? Keeps my expectation in check. @theresiatanzil
Why? How? What? Simon Sinek, start with Why
What am I doing that I could delegate/outsource? Ce
What is your desired outcome? @JosieCSapien
How efficient is this and if it not, what specific reason am I doing this for? @snigdhar0y
Does this help anyone, does it hurt anyone? @snigdhar0y
Is there a better way to do this? What resources do I have to make this happen? @snigdhar0y
Who’s actually on my side here? Who can I trust? @snigdhar0y
What if I’m the new guy who just inherited this clusterfuck and can do anything I want with it? (Helps to shake out of sunk cost patterns) @visakanv zero-based design @amyhoy
Decisions
Does this align with my mission? @Boldinfluence
Is this aligned with my values? @BetaLucca1
What are the motivations behind my actions? Is it necessary? @Kartik_dev7 @MLQuotes1
"Most of what we say and do is not essential. If you can eliminate it, you’ll have more time, and more tranquility. Ask yourself at every moment, ‘Is this necessary?’" - Marcus Aurelius
What are you most afraid of? - Fear setting questions ...
Why am I afraid to say no? @ctgloster
What if I just say “no”? @enordec
Is It Important to address this? What are the benefits? Will it change the other person? Before reacting to any negative thing/person @winningalways
Do I really need to say something? @tanadeo
Am I still connected with the dreams and curiosity of my childhood? @Rapahelz888
What would I regret the most? @BeckyThorn9
What would X do? (Jesus, insert person you admire) Ce
Am I giving my 100%? @kapoorsaahab
Why am I in such a hurry? @slbell05
Why shouldn't I do it? Vs. asking: why should I do it? @i_JustA7med
Do I want this or need this? Before making purchase/consuming decision. Roberto Abadie
Is this a need or a want? @_curious_mind
Is the risk worth the reward? @JHCTriathlon
Is this the right battle to pick? Ce
How will I feel if I don’t do this? @mrsamirshah
Is this a fuck yeah!? Derek Sivers
What would I do if I loved myself? Powerful tool for making decisions. @JoshuaBromilow
Context / Inspiration for this project:
My long obsession with #questionsfirst background.
Tim Ferriss: https://tim.blog/2016/12/07/testing-the-impossible-17-questions-that-changed-my-life/
Kevin Kelly: in this era answers are cheap, questions are most valuable.
Paul Graham: question generator: https://jamescun.github.io/iPG/
Twitter thread by @JamesClear: https://twitter.com/JamesClear/status/1226705509849407489
"The stupidity of people comes from having an answer for everything. The wisdom of the novel comes from having a question for everything."- Kundera
Got a great question? Have an attribution to change on the above questions? Email me at ...