At the cusp of a new day, week, month or year, most of us take a little time to reflect on our lives by looking back over the past and ahead into the future. We ponder the successes, failures and standout events that are slowly scripting our life’s story. This process of self-reflection helps us maintain a conscious awareness of where we’ve been and where we intend to go. It is pertinent to the organization and preservation of our long-term goals and happiness.

The questions below will help you with this process. Because when it comes to finding meaning in life, asking the right questions is the answer.

In one sentence, who are you? Why do you matter? What is your life motto? What’s something you have that everyone wants? What is missing in your life? What’s been on your mind most lately? Happiness is a ________? What stands between you and happiness? What do you need most right now? What does the child inside you long for? What is one thing right now that you are totally sure of? What’s been bothering you lately? What are you scared of? What has fear of failure stopped you from doing? What will you never give up on? What do you want to remember forever? What makes you feel secure? Which activities make you lose track of time? What’s the most difficult decision you’ve ever made? What’s the best decision you’ve ever made? What are you most grateful for? What is worth the pain? In order of importance, how would you rank: happiness, money, love, health, fame? What is something you’ve always wanted, but don’t yet have? What was the most defining moment in your life during this past year? What’s the number one change you need to make in your life in the next twelve months? What’s the number one thing you want to achieve in the next five years? What is the biggest motivator in your life right now? What will you never do? What’s something you said you’d never do, but have since done? What’s something new you recently learned about yourself? What do you sometimes pretend to understand that you really do not? In one sentence, what do you wish for your future self? What worries you most about the future? When you look into the past, what do you miss most? What’s something from the past that you don’t miss at all? What recently reminded you of how fast time flies? What is the biggest challenge you face right now? In one word, how would you describe your personality? What never fails to frustrate you? What are you known for by your friends and family? What’s something most people don’t know about you? What’s a common misconception people have about you? What’s something a lot of people do that you disagree with? What’s a belief you hold with which many people disagree? What’s something that’s harder for you than it is for most people? What are the top three qualities you look for in a friend? If you had a friend who spoke to you in the same way that you sometimes speak to yourself, how long would you allow that person to be your friend? When you think of ‘home,’ what, specifically, do you think of? What’s the most valuable thing you own? If you had to move 3000 miles away, what would you miss most? What would make you smile right now? What do you do when nothing else seems to make you happy? What do you wish did not exist in your life? What should you avoid to improve your life? What is something you would hate to go without for a day? What’s the biggest lie you once believed was true? What’s something bad that happened to you that made you stronger? What’s something nobody could ever steal from you? What’s something you disliked when you were younger that you truly enjoy today? What are you glad you quit? What do you need to spend more time doing? What are you naturally good at? What have you been counting or keeping track of recently? What has the little voice inside your head been saying lately? What’s something you should always be careful with? What should always be taken seriously? What should never be taken seriously? What are three things you can’t get enough of? What would you do differently if you knew nobody would judge you? What fascinates you? What’s the difference between being alive and truly living? What’s something you would do every day if you could? At what time in your recent past have you felt most passionate and alive? Which is worse, failing or never trying? What makes you feel incomplete? When did you experience a major turning point in your life? What or who do you wish you lived closer to? If you had the opportunity to get a message across to a large group of people, what would your message be? What’s something you know you can count on? What makes you feel comfortable? What’s something about you that has never changed? What will be different about your life in exactly one year? What mistakes do you make over and over again? What do you have a hard time saying “no” to? Are you doing what you believe in, or are you settling for what you are doing? What’s something that used to scare you, but no longer does? What promise to yourself do you still need to fulfill? What do you appreciate most about your current situation? What’s something simple that makes you smile? So far, what has been the primary focus of your life? How do you know when it’s time to move on? What’s something you wish you could do one more time? When you’re 90-years-old, what will matter to you the most? What would you regret not fully doing, being, or having in your life?

Please share your thoughts with us in the comments section below. And of course, check out our sister site, Thought Questions, for more thought-provoking questions like these.