These questions have no right or wrong answers.
Because sometimes asking the right questions is the answer.
- How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are?
- Which is worse, failing or never trying?
- If life is so short, why do we do so many things we don’t like and like so many things we don’t do?
- When it’s all said and done, will you have said more than you’ve done?
- What is the one thing you’d most like to change about the world?
- If happiness was the national currency, what kind of work would make you rich?
- Are you doing what you believe in, or are you settling for what you are doing?
- If the average human life span was 40 years, how would you live your life differently?
- To what degree have you actually controlled the course your life has taken?
- Are you more worried about doing things right, or doing the right things?
- You’re having lunch with three people you respect and admire. They all start criticizing a close friend of yours, not knowing she is your friend. The criticism is distasteful and unjustified. What do you do?
- If you could offer a newborn child only one piece of advice, what would it be?
- Would you break the law to save a loved one?
- Have you ever seen insanity where you later saw creativity?
- What’s something you know you do differently than most people?
- How come the things that make you happy don’t make everyone happy?
- What one thing have you not done that you really want to do? What’s holding you back?
- Are you holding onto something you need to let go of?
- If you had to move to a state or country besides the one you currently live in, where would you move and why?
- Do you push the elevator button more than once? Do you really believe it makes the elevator faster?
- Would you rather be a worried genius or a joyful simpleton?
- Why are you, you?
- Have you been the kind of friend you want as a friend?
- Which is worse, when a good friend moves away, or losing touch with a good friend who lives right near you?
- What are you most grateful for?
- Would you rather lose all of your old memories, or never be able to make new ones?
- Is is possible to know the truth without challenging it first?
- Has your greatest fear ever come true?
- Do you remember that time 5 years ago when you were extremely upset? Does it really matter now?
- What is your happiest childhood memory? What makes it so special?
- At what time in your recent past have you felt most passionate and alive?
- If not now, then when?
- If you haven’t achieved it yet, what do you have to lose?
- Have you ever been with someone, said nothing, and walked away feeling like you just had the best conversation ever?
- Why do religions that support love cause so many wars?
- Is it possible to know, without a doubt, what is good and what is evil?
- If you just won a million dollars, would you quit your job?
- Would you rather have less work to do, or more work you actually enjoy doing?
- Do you feel like you’ve lived this day a hundred times before?
- When was the last time you marched into the dark with only the soft glow of an idea you strongly believed in?
- If you knew that everyone you know was going to die tomorrow, who would you visit today?
- Would you be willing to reduce your life expectancy by 10 years to become extremely attractive or famous?
- What is the difference between being alive and truly living?
- When is it time to stop calculating risk and rewards, and just go ahead and do what you know is right?
- If we learn from our mistakes, why are we always so afraid to make a mistake?
- What would you do differently if you knew nobody would judge you?
- When was the last time you noticed the sound of your own breathing?
- What do you love? Have any of your recent actions openly expressed this love?
- In 5 years from now, will you remember what you did yesterday? What about the day before that? Or the day before that?
- Decisions are being made right now. The question is: Are you making them for yourself, or are you letting others make them for you?
Please share your thoughts with us in the comments section below.
And check out these books for more thought-provoking questions:
- The Book of Questions
- If… (Questions For The Game of Life)
- The Complete Book of Questions: 1001 Conversation Starters for Any Occasion
Photo by: Sanctuary
saniya says
thank you very much for this great 50 questions
it really made my mind free
and some of the question were joky for me
Misty Funk says
I wrote a post called “Five Powerful Questions to Simplify Your Life” on SimpleCityLife.com. You’re list is much more comprehensive. Thanks for this great post.
Remkarl says
Very interesting questions.. Thanks Marc and Angel 🙂
Tere says
Thanks for the questions…I’ve bookmarked them and I’m using them for a personal/spiritual journey.
Pete Wood says
Very deep and thought provoking – many thanks.
Ash Srivastava says
Marc, Hats off to you. Questions are so thought provoking. Asking the right questions is very important. I am inspired. It made me reflect.
Regards,
Ash
OnePowerfulWord.com
Raphael says
Excellent questions that could really set the stage for some new thought processes. My question is why don’t people allow new information to even be considered when it is principle based?
Samuel HOLLAND says
I really liked number 25. Religion is going to get extinguished in the future no matter what, but at this point we need it. The reason for that is the global differense between humans. When we advance and get more knowledge and understanding of the universe, everyone will see that there is no god. It was just something we made up because we were afraid and lazy to advance into the future.
– My opinion…
http://mojoblastreview.com
andy says
I’m a senior in high school and college is fast approaching. I have started questioning all of my life and have found out a lot about myself because of it. this was by far one of the best lists i have found. thanks for sharing it.
steve says
My question is as cliche as can be, what is the purpose of live?
Here is my answer:
Life has no inherent purpose or goal, we exist simply because some cells decided to band together and function together. We are a bundle of organic matter with a consciousness created by the brain that we perceive to be ourselves, our self image, in a sense, your “soul”. There is no inherent purpose, religion gives people a purpose. But it’s a bullshit purpose, people don’t actually abide by it in the religion and it causes more strife than good. This purpose is obviously the afterlife. Then society gives us a purpose, which we abide by more. Material possessions. Think about it, what is the majority of our lives for? We are born, and spend years integrating ourselves into society and learning basic social norms to survive, then we are sent into school to learn shit we don’t care about, go get a job we hate, so finally, we can buy a bunch of shit we don’t need! Of course there’s a lot of opportunities along the way to experience other things, but the ultimate purpose is material possessions. I think this is fucked up. People should be allowed to assign meaning to their own lives rather than have one assigned to them by the rest of society. Right now, the consequences of breaking this unspoken law, is that you do not get fed.
Sharon Uttinger says
Hello Steve,
Try God, not religion. You will be amazed. Ask Him anything and everything. He will answer you personally; you will understand and know if you really want to. He knows our every thought and deed, yet loves us and is faithful to forgive us always.
From The Bible: “Knock and the door shall be opened. Ask and the answer will be given you.”
Matthew 6: “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you.” Also see Jer 29:11 a good plan for your life. Blessings to you in your seeking.—Sharon
John W says
Sharon,
I don’t know whether you realized it or not, but god is solely a personification of nature – but do you ask a bird what to do?
You simply cannot take bible literally, it was written at a time when people didn’t know how they should live, so it was written to give advice.
Also you might think the stories of Jesus happened as they are written in the bible – they didn’t. Science shows that the books were written around 50 years after his death – people didn’t become that old, they merely heard the stories, had some common sources and wrote about it.
I don’t say Jesus didn’t exist; I also don’t say there is no god, but I simply don’t accept him as he is described in the bible – however I can accept that he is a personification of nature.
@steve: I think everyone has a purpose in life, but I think it differs for everyone as well.
I think my purpose is to help other people where I can and to enjoy life in a way which doesn’t harm other people.
T Prosser says
51. Does what you do make a difference to the whole? Or are you just going through the motions?
52. If the hardest people to love are the ones who need it the most, what will happen to them if no one loves them?
53. Do perceived circumstances determine your life’s course? Or could choosing a new possible course in life determine the circumstances for you?
54. If everyone knew that money was just a piece of paper that the government printed, would it still have value?
Andrea says
What a great article! Very interesting and thought provoking, so much that I’ve print it. Zen’s koan made simple, so to speak. There are many good questions and my preferred one is n. 43 “What is the difference between being alive and truly living?”
Very good question since for the great part of our life almost everyone is alive but not truly living, until something happens and you begin asking yourself this kind of question. And maybe change your life.
Very good article again, stumbled. 🙂
kizent jecha velasco says
oh my god this article really makes me think.
Ryan says
Sucha beautiful list of questions, thanks for this…they are very inspiring and thought-provoking. For more inspiration, you should check out my project, TheAdventurous500.com where I do daily adventures! For women, y’all should take a peak at this awesome woman’s entrepreneur video! It pumped me up and I’m a dude haha: http://youtu.be/U7nXsOfLB0c
Vitaly Tennant says
I’m glad I stumbled across this site. Those are some interesting questions that can open up many doors to self happiness.
Deidra G. says
i don’t know if you read comments or not. i just wanted to say that your questions are pretty amazing. i’m going to be using them on my blog, answering one a week for the year. basically no one reads my blog, but i’m hoping to find a few more parts of myself by the end. thanks. ^.^
Nicky says
Whoa! Thinking, Thinking, I sometimes already know the answers but I’m too afraid to fail. I know my fear is the worst kind of punishment. Thanks for the inspiration.
lilly says
when i was going through the questions i could answer most of them pretty easy but the one i really loved was if you had to move to a different state or country besides the one you live in what would it be and y? obviously if you knew me you would even know what i would choose because i talk about it all the time:)
Mel from Healing That Feeling says
Some great questions here and some thought provoking ones 🙂
I might link to this page in one of my newsletters for my list to see.
Thanks!
nitesh says
these quetions simply explain us what we are doing with our lifes and what we really should do.
greatly thought quetions!
Gratis geld says
These are some pretty deep questions that made me think. Thanks.
melissa says
#35. Why do religions that support love cause so many wars?
It’s not the religions that cause so many wars, it’s the practitioners of religions, who have no tolerance for those of other religions. Some commentors have declared non-belief in a ‘God’; others are clearly dedicated to their beliefs. We all need to learn to tolerate and even love all others, despite their beliefs and religious (or ‘non-‘) practices. When that happens, there will no longer be a need for organized religion, as people will be able to see through the muck and know what they are; all brothers and sisters, regardless of whether they believe in God, or not. If we all knew that we are all one family, there would be much less, if any, enmity toward one another, and wars would no longer be a part of our existence on this planet.
It’s not religion that’s to blame for our long history of global social unrest, it’s our ego and self (arguably one and the same thing, and equally destructive), which feed a common need for spiritual superiority. Take responsibility for your thoughts and actions, folks. One’s religion doesn’t make one better or worse than another, or more right or more wrong. Yes, some (ok, one in particular these days) religions claim an absolute exclusive on being the only true religion, supposedly taught by their ‘book’, however those teachings are not original to the book and have been altered to suit the political agenda of the ones who seek greater power over others, which is a symptom of the relatively low level of the spiritual growth of those who buy into that belief and practice it at the expense of others. Which leads to many more questions….
Tintin says
26.Would you rather lose all of your old memories, or never be able to make new ones?
— i really don’t know how to answer this question. it really makes me think.
brilliant prose! great job! 🙂
piebuko says
These questions deserve serious consideration. I’d like to post this in my blog and answer them. Of course, I’d link appropriately. Thank you very much for these questions.
gregeeh1 says
I think # 4 pretty much raps it up! Thanks for the thought provoking questions.
Vidya says
Thanks! That’s all I can say now.
Tandeep Kaur says
Hi .. A very Good Morning to everyone !
Such a good post to read. These questions really made me think once that m i doing right or not . I am falling out of words. Thumbs Up !!
Thanks
Karen Michaels says
OMG, I read the first question and started to cry! The last question also really got me! I copied and pasted these into my evernote to share with my friends. Thanks for a super thought-provoking post!
🙂
Frida says
What is your happiest childhood memory? What makes it so special? – I did not know how horrible the world is. No worries, only happiness
Why do religions that support love cause so many wars?- Becuase everything with religion is wrong. Its the sickest thing ever made up
What are you most grateful for?- Nothing
Has your greatest fear ever come true?- Yes, ive lost so many family members and friends to death
Priscila says
Hi, thanks for this list of questions, as a suggestion this should be translated to every lenguage in the world!
RobFonner says
Why am I me and why are you, you? I’m 56 and still looking for the reason I’m here on this planet. Number 9 pretty much says it for me!
neville says
Thanks for these questions about life and decisions. Somehow reading them helps.
sonia says
i actually went through every single one of these questions and answered them. all.
it’s interesting, indeed. everyonw should take the time to do it.
i think i kinda know who i am although i’m 17 and i was amazed about how easily i answered these 🙂 but it’s a good and productive way of spending 20 minutes. 🙂
whoever wrote all of these, thank you. I’m your new fan 🙂
Brent says
Thought provoking!
anna says
Appreciate what you have. Your life is your attitude + choices. After answering the questions; i felt sure that i am living my life pretty well.
Faye - Spiritual Personal Growth says
I love this list of questions! I took the time to answer each one..some of them are definitely easier to answer than the others, but I found those that weren’t so easy to answer actually revealed the most….when I asked myself ‘why’ the answer didn’t come right away, many core values were revealed that I didn’t even realize I had been holding.
Thanks for writing these…an awesome little exercise in self introspection for sure!
Tal Smith says
Hi,
Thank you for a great post. I found your site through Stumbleupon.
I have a degree in psychology and am all for a little Introspection as I think it does us good.
Thanks again.
Tal
Gabriel Minn says
Reading the comments left by everyone
this is really amazing how these questions have touched people
Eluna888 says
1.17
2.never trying
3.because we are humans and humans do wrong things
4.yes
5.apathy
6.making people happy
7.do what i believe in
8.yes
9.50%
10.doing the right things
11.stop them
12.enjoy when you’re young
13.yes
14.no
15.write poetry, think
16.because I’m over emotional
17.kiss the one i love, him
18.yes
19.to russia, wonderful art
20.yes. no
21.worried genious
22.because of my genes
23.yes
24.losing touch with a friend who lives near you
25.that i’m alive
26.loose old ones
27.no
28.no
29.no
30.playing hide and seek when i was a kid, we were so inocent back then
31.when i was in love
32.never
33.true
34.YES
35.because they’re people not gods
36.no. there’s evil in all of us
37.no
38.other
39.yes
40.yesterday
41.family
42.no
43.the other one will shorten your life
44.never. it always hits you in the head when you do so.
45.no.
46.i would run naked. joke. i would write a biographical novel
47.right after a read this
48.art. yes.
49.maybe if it was something worth remembering
50.letting others
Alex says
is it just me or I can’t just think of anything to answer to most questions?, they made me think though.
saira says
1;mature enough as an old man and childish like a silly baby
2;never trying
3;for purpose of acheiving satisfaction
4;no i always do more than what i say
5;selfishness
6;loving those people who are nver considered worth of loving
7;setting 4 wt im doing
8;by dividing it into 4 parts of ten years each.1st part 4 people,2nd and 3rd part 4 god and last part 4 my ownself.
9;80%
10;doing right things
11;make them stop otherwise leave the table
12;smile in every situation and say all is well
13;ofcourse
14;yes
15;enjoy my own company
16;because everyone has one’s own point of veiw
17;express myself completely,fear of losing friends
18;yes
19;austria,4 highest peaks
20;no i dnt,dnt think so
21;joyful simpleton
22;dnt knw
23;no
24;losing touch with a good friend who lives near you
25;4 having beleive in reality
26;neither remove past nor abstain from having new ones
27;no
28;yes
29;yes i remember but that dnt matter nw
30;having a fast at age of 5 yrs.what makes it special is that i slept whole day.
31;dnt remember anything like that
32;never
33;time
34;yes
35;because love itself is a war
36;no
37;no
38;more work
39;no
40;4 yrs ago
41;my bhaiya
42;no
43;being alive is more like a passive term and truly living means utilizing each and every moment of life for the sake of living
44;yes
45;because al mistakes do not lead to a lesson.some cause great loss.
46;judge myownself
47;4 yars ago
48;my broth,no
49;yes
50;sometime for myself and sometime due to others
Kimberly says
The answer to number the 35 was difficult but when I truly sat and thought about it I realized the answer was right in front of me not literally but figuratively the answer because love is worth fighting for.
Glenna says
My question to you is did you ever think you would have such a huge response to your article here? Love it!
Pete says
These questions are entirely mind boggling.
Ike says
I LOVE these question lists! I want to hear from the guy who read this list, really thought about it, and then quit his job to alternate between weed, Xbox and masturbating all day before he gets evicted and eats out of dumpsters. Great article.
Varada says
WOW! These questions kind of took me off guard and made me think. Thanks. 🙂
sports blog says
“If you haven’t achieved it yet, what do you have to lose?”
This one is one of the best!! Really if you deeply think about it, it can be a Guru Mantra for your success!
All the other are also awesome but this one made my day! 🙂
yshnavi says
WOW….. These questions are amazing. They helped me get free of my tensions by thinking more about them.
REALLY SUPERB!