Tips On Answering Questions

"He who finds himself, loses his misery."
- Matthew Arnold

Awareness is the first step in the creation process. As you grow in self awareness you will better understand why you feel what you feel and why you behave as you behave. That understanding then gives you the opportunity and freedom to change those things you'd like to change about yourself and create the life you want. Without knowing who you are, self acceptance and change become impossible.

Be As Specific As You Can

General answers will only give you a general sense of who you are. The more specific your answers, the more impact they'll have on your life and you'll have a much clearer picture of yourself. I can not emphasis this enough. Be specific. Be specific. Give specific answers. When you think you've been pretty specific, make it even more specific.

Questions, Not Judgments

Don't ask yourself these questions with a judgmental tone. They're not accusations, or calls for you to defend yourself. They're questions to help you discover who you are. Be honest, gentle, and nonjudgmental. No one has to see your answers. This is between you and you, and no one else.

Letting It Flow

If while answering the questions you come up with your own line of questioning, then definitely follow it. (You're the expert here.) Also, if you answer, "I don't know", to any of the questions, give yourself the freedom to take a wild guess. The guess will allow you to continue. You know more than you think you do!

Be Totally Honesty

Honesty leads to true awareness, but it requires courage. It's the courage to face what you fear or find difficult to accept about yourselves. When you summon the courage to take ownership of your actions, thoughts, and feelings, you will recover the blueprint of your life. You'll be able to face your fears and find the inaccurate beliefs that created them.

"We make our world significant
by the courage of our questions,
and the depth of our answers."

- Carl Sagan

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When answering the questions on the next page, see if you are substituting rationalizations for your genuine feelings. Check inside and see if you are asking yourself "How SHOULD I feel?", rather than "How do I really feel?". Monitor if you are speculating intellectually about the answer, rather than getting in touch with what you are thinking or feeling.

Know that in the past you had reasons for being dishonest and that those reasons may no longer be useful or serve you. Know whatever you discover about yourself, you can handle with ease and acceptance. Trust that the information you uncover will in some way lead to a greater sense of peace about yourself. That the answers to the questions will take you by the hand, and lead you to where you want to go.

Becoming honest is an act of self renewal. What a sense of freedom you'll feel when you're able to admit to yourself..."I want this, or think this, or feel this because I'm afraid that...[fill in the blank]. This is the first step toward discovering hidden fears. What a wonderful place to know where you are! It's difficult to reach a destination, when you don't even know where you're starting. You need only to gather your courage and look for your beliefs you have about yourself and your world. The rewards of doing so will lead you to places of happiness you never knew existed.

next: Self Awareness Questions