36 Questions for Soul-Searching
“You need a personal mission statement,” was a theme I heard repeatedly throughout my final semester of college. At least three different professors emphasized on an almost-weekly basis that all the seniors needed to have one in writing before graduating. So, I resolved to write one. Where to start, though?
I knew I needed to invest a considerable amount of thought in choosing precise and power-packed language for communicating my values, identity, and goals. So, I began by compiling a list of 36 questions and answering each one before beginning to compose even the first sentence of my personal constitution; I wanted to be intentional with my vocabulary. It started with a haphazard list of keywords and, over the course of many months, it evolved into a page-long document outlining the details of what I discovered to be my six greatest priorities in life: 1) faith, 2) family, 3) health, 4) community, 5) career and 6) continual growth.
This Q&A method for narrowing my focus proved to be very effective and I have published my personal creed in this blog post. But for now, I just wanted to share this list of questions in case others want to do some soul-searching and eventually write their own personal mission statement.
36 Questions for Soul-searching
What values are important to you?
What makes you feel most happy and alive?
What lights you up to talk about?
What do you stand for?
What do you stand against?
What principles are you not prepared to violate?
What gets you up in the morning?
What makes you want to stay in bed?
What drains you or bores you?
What can you do for hours without tiring of?
Who are you outside of your accomplishments?
What are your roles/spheres of influence?
Who is your ideal self?
Who do you want to be like?
Which qualities do you most admire in these people?
What brings out the best in you?
What brings out the worst in you?
What do you want to belong to?
What are your short-term and long-term goals?
Where do you want to be in 5 years?
Who do you want to help or influence?
What value or unique contribution do you want to bring to the world?
What kind of legacy do you want to leave?
How do you want people to describe/remember you?
What does your perfect day look like?
What challenges you?
What’s your superpower or what are you really good at?
What habits do you want to build?
What skills do you want to develop?
What are your interests?
What are your passions?
What have you walked through that you can speak into?
What have been your greatest past successes?
What are you most proud of?
What mistakes have you made so far?
How can you avoid repeating them?