A few days before my big interview, my heart lit up! I was preparing for the interview when I came across four riveting interview questions that changed my life forever. Today, I start every day by asking myself these four questions. They act as a guide, giving me insights about my present and future. They guide my decisions and help me make better choices.
When I see people preparing for interviews, I see them searching for answers to these questions outside, googling for witty replies to common interview questions, yet not getting the right job! But the irony is that when people genuinely search for the answers to these four questions, they will find the right job, right mate, right social circle, and the right direction. But where to search! The answers to these questions are not available outside of yourself, but rather within. So here are the four questions that changed my life forever. They can change yours too, if you ask them every day –
1. “How well do you know yourself?”
What you know and do not know about yourself impacts the quality of results you get in life. During goal setting workshops that I conduct, I frequently ask these questions to the participants: What’s your purpose? What is your most important value? What makes you get up in the morning every day? What do you live for? A majority of people begin to think before replying, as if they are not sure, and that is okay! The question is not how much time you took to come up with an answer, but it is about how well you know yourself and how well you can communicate it to others. Everyday be clear about who you are becoming in the process of living your life.
2. “Where do you see yourself five years from now?”
Where you are right now is dependent on the life you lived five years ago and how you live today will decide where you will be five years from now. To live your dream life you must start from the end. Define how you see yourself financially, socially, physically and professionally. Now is the time to start crafting your future. Everyday, ask yourself “Is my to-do list aligned to my five year goal?” Let your daily actions take you towards your ultimate life.
3. “What do you do in your free time?”
Time is a limited resource. You have exactly 86,400 seconds in a day – the rich and the poor both have the same amount of time. Yet only a few are able to draw out more from the time available. This is because they choose to use it wisely. Successful people equate time with money and they choose to invest their time in productive pursuits. Free time is a bonus given to us; we may choose to use it either to make progress toward our goals, or waste it and stay where we are. Discipline is regarded as the number one quality of all successful leaders. When you invest time in the right pursuits you begin disciplining your life and hence develop self-esteem and self-respect.
4. “What are your strengths and weaknesses?”
A self-audit helps you know the areas of yourself you can use to make a difference and the areas you must work on. To develop yourself professionally you must do this audit every day, not only once in a year (during performance reviews). Reflect on the day gone by and notice subtle performance improvements and gaps. Ask yourself, “What could I have done better and how?” Doing a post mortem of your performance helps you plug leakages that are derailing you from the path of your ultimate destiny. Knowing thyself is the recipe to personal success.
Be your best self every day!
