365 QUESTIONS TO
EXPLORE YOUR INNER SELF
& REVEAL YOUR TRUE NATURE
Question Yourself
365 Questions to Explore Your Inner
Self & Reveal Your True Nature
By Dave Edelstein and I. C. Robledo
Question Yourself: 365 Questions
Reveal Your True Nature
to Explore Your
Inner Self &
Copyright © 2020 by David Edelstein & Issac Robledo.
All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any
form without written permission from the authors. Brief passages may
be quoted for review purposes.
Disclaimer
Although the authors and publisher have made every effort to ensure
that the information in this book was correct at press time, the authors
and publisher do not assume and hereby disclaim any liability to any
party for any loss, damage, or disruption caused by errors or omissions,
whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident, or
any other cause.
This book is not intended as a substitute for the medical advice of
physicians. The reader should regularly consult a physician in matters
relating to his/her health arid particularly with respect to any symptoms
that may require diagnosis or medical attention.
The views expressed are those of the authors alone and should not be
taken as expert instruction or commands. The reader is responsible for
his or her own actions.
Adherence
to all applicable laws and_ regulations, including
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Table of Contents
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Introduction
In writing an introduction to a book of questions, there is a great
temptation to simply ask more questions: Why a book of questions? Why
these questions? What will this book do for me? \ have decided that it is better
to give you a chance to enjoy the idea of questioning before simply
launching you into the deep end, and perhaps offer some explanation
as to why I think this book may be useful to you.
Our lives are full of uncertainty. Asking questions may seem like
throwing gasoline on the fire. What we need, it seems, are some good
answers. There are plenty of books, professors, politicians, and doctors
who will be happy to give you answers. The problem is that these
answets may not really address your own truest questions. We sift
among the answers until we find one that seems to fill our need for
certainty, but later, thinking back on what we really wanted to know,
we find that this answers someone else’s question. The answer may
even simply represent something that the person who created it thinks
he knows. But it tells us nothing about the process that produced it.
Questions
give us a chance
to find our own
answers.
I make
no
pretense that the questions in this book are a complete guide to
anything. They are a first step in answeting two even more primal
questions: Who am I? What do I beheve? The questions in this book are
meant, sometimes playfully, sometimes incisively, to help you search
for your own answers. These answers should correspond to who you
are and what you believe, whether or not it pleases or agrees with
anyone else.
Asking questions also takes us back to our childhoods, when the world
was new to our eyes and everything around us produced fresh ideas.
Children ask tons of questions, the most popular among them being
Why? Why this way and not some other way? The world seems so much
mote fluid to children, and it is easier for them to imagine alternatives
to what strikes us as simple, unquestionable reality. One of my favorite
questions of all time came from my son when he was six: “Dad, why
1
can’t we see ait?” It does exactly what a good question should do: it
looks at a situation that everyone experiences all the time, and then
challenges that too-easily accepted reality. That question is also so
much more satisfying than any answer I could offer, no matter how
many times I used the word “photons.”
That child-like asking corresponds to another healthy mental
characteristic of the eternally young, curiosity. It is often said that
children
are
born
scientists,
as
if scientists
have
some
kind
of
monopoly on curiosity. Curiosity is a part of all that is exciting and
noble in human endeavor, that “Why?” energy that leads us to consider
all the possible alternatives and explanations. You may know people
who covet a range of curiosity from “not curious” to “intensely
curious.” Which ones seem more alive to you, more engaged with
people and the world around them, more fulfilled? This question is not
included only for effect. It is a real question that I think will be helpful
for you to answer.
It probably won’t surprise you to hear that I studied philosophy in
college. Many people do, but not so many take the egregious step of
making philosophy their college major. That may be because
philosophy, unlike economics or physics, does not provide any
answers. It is more about laying the ground rules for how to build
questions. In a world that places so much emphasis on answers, this
skill is often underappreciated—or even seen as annoying.
But let’s take a look at answers for a minute, because you will be
working to develop your own answers to the questions in this book. In
school, we are trained to hear what are called convergent questions and
give convergent answers. This is tne kind of question where there is
supposed to be some fact that is the only correct answer, preferably a
number, for example: How many people live on the Earth? At press time,
the correct answer is 7.7 billion. If you have a good memory, you can
do very well in school. But many important questions are not
convergent at all. These divergent questions and their answers require
real thought or possibly wisdom to answer: How can 7.7 billion human
beings inhabit a single planet nith sufficiency for all and conflict with none? There
are probably at least 7.7 billion answers to that question, all of them
worthy of appreciation and examination, to be turned over and over in
the mind as a fresh raspberry is turned over and over on the tongue.
ps
The questions in this book are not intended to produce a single
convergent answer, even if you are answering strictly for yourself. Your
thinking may change over time. You may learn that what you believed
to be an answer does not correspond to your life experience—or that
you have drawn the wrong conclusion from your life experience. Our
answers may be right or wrong, or right in one moment and wrong the
next, or first wrong, then right. Let us be gentle with our answers and
ourselves. Try not to judge your answer while you are composing it.
Give it time to grow and breathe.
The lack of judgment implied in questioning, rather than answering, is
another beautiful aspect of questions. Questions do not loudly state
theit opinion of someone else’s action or thought, saying “I agree” or
“T disagree.” They seek understanding: “Why did you do thaté” “Is there
another way to do it?” What do you beheve?” “Why do you beheve it?” They wait
for a response. They want to learn and be informed.
I hope, most of all, that this book will be pleasurable for you in a
variety of ways. I hope that some of the questions are fun, and make
you smile or even laugh as you answer them. I hope that others lead
you to a still place of self-knowledge, encouraging pondering or
meditation. | hope that others produce surprise, like a game of hideand-seek with yourself: look, I was hiding there all the time!
Thank you for joining in this game, in this search, in this mental
playground. Always remember that these questions are just to get you
started, a way to revive your questioning mind so that the world around you
can again be filled with wonder and curiosity. You were born to know
yourself and the world. It is questions, more than answers, that will
catry you on your way.
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How to Use This Book
You have in front of you a book with a year’s worth of questions. It is
your book; you may use it any way you like. On the other hand, in
developing this project, 1 came up with some ideas that | think will
help you get the most enjoyment, insight, and self-awareness from it.
Here are a few recommendations:
1) Make this a daily practice
Like meditation, gratitude journaling, physical exercise, or any creative
endeavor, daily practice is an important part of the experience. You
have a year’s worth of questions to think about, one per day for a full
year if you wish. | recommend setting aside a specific block of time
every day to spend with a question or questions. Scheduling this time
will make it much more likely that you will use it productively. Selfknowledge is not a casual, “Tl do it when I feel like it” effort.
2) Choose a question that catches your attention
Some days we feel more like examining one area of life than another.
Take advantage of that impulse. I chose to put the questions in random
order specifically so you would not feel like you had to go from
question 1 to question 365 in a straight line. Open the book, take a
group of about ten questions and answer the one that interests you
most. If no question in that group grabs your attention, look at ten
more.
3) Answer fully
Some questions might look like they can be answered Yes/No, or in a
single word or sentence. For those who are truly committed to selfdiscovery, however, this is only the beginning. The question “Why is
that your answer?” is always present. How long have you believed this
answer? How did you develop it? Is it truly your own idea, or
something you learned from someone else? Are there experiences in
5
your life that support or deny this belief? Try to examine your response
from all angles and see if it really stands up under the bright glare of
your most open mind. It may be helpful to think of how a Devil’s
Advocate, or Socrates, would go to work on your answer.
For two fine examples of Socratic cross-examination of an opinion, try
reading Plato’s “Gorgias” and ““Thrasymachus.”
4) Consult your feelings, as well as your thoughts
Some questions may give you an emotional as well as an intellectual
reaction. Be sure to pursue those feelings. Ask yourself where they
come from, why they are there, and how the question triggered them.
Exploring your subconscious emotional reactions may give you more
insight into who you really are than questions that stay on the thought
level.
5) Don’t feel tied to your first answer
This is not a multiple-choice test, where classroom teachers tell us that
our first answer is most likely to be right. Do not rush to an answer or
assume that your first answer is the “real you.” You may be responding
with something you have been taught about yourself, and that is
someone else’s answer. These questions are for you. Try out different
answers, and follow where they lead, until you arrive at something you
believe in your heart.
6) Above all, honesty
This book is for you to reflect upon deeply. Do not give the answer
which you think makes you “look best.” Give the answer you believe
in, the one that comes from your core. This is how you will get to
know the real you.
I hope that you will experience this book as a great adventure in
knowing yourself. Everyone has unique perspectives on life, and how
to live it, but so few of us get the chance to examine life and our
relationship to it. It may happen that the better you get to know
yourself, the more deeply you will be able to understand and appreciate
others. I wish you a fulfilling, joyful experience on your path toward
self-discovery.
7) Answer the questions your own way
You may be surprised to discover that there are many different
mediums you can consider for recording or processing your answers.
Below are some helpful options:
e
Write your answers into a notebook or journal, to keep them all
in one place
e
Speak your answers into a recorder or recording app, to listen
to them later
e
Start a dialogue with friends and family (e.g., over coffee or
dinner), discussing the questions and your responses openly
e
Answer the questions on social media or online forums, to
open discussion with others
e
Answer the questions in your mind, reflecting on them on your
own
e A final idea is that you can record your answers to the same
question at different points in time, to see how your thoughts
and answers change over time
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Before You Continue...
As a thank you for reading, I want you to have a free guide called:
Step Up Your Learning: Free Tools to Learn Almost Anything
Although learning tools may appear to be a completely different topic
than the one this book covers, I believe strongly that we should a/yays
be learning something so that we can meet our full potential as human
beings. Remember that you are always able to learn about any topic
that is important to you. I recommend that you focus on areas you are
curious about, or that can help you to get one step closer to your
dream job or dream life.
This & guide stems from my ve own experiences of using a variety, of
learning sites and resources. In it, you will discover the best places to
go for learning at no cost. Also, Pll explain which resources are best for
you, depending on your learning goals.
You can download this free guide as a PDF by typing this website into
your browser: http://mentalmax.net/EN
Now, let’s get back on topic.
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The Questions
Are you ultimately defined
weaknesses?
by your
strengths
or by your
2)
What was a great mistake you made which ended up having a
positive outcome?
3)
The cure for disappointment Is...
4)
If you could talk to a loved one who has passed, what would
you say?
Agi!
5)
Did you ever feel connected to another place and time? Where
and when?
6)
How does money change the situation?
7)
When you feel lonely, what do you wish human contact would
8)
Is romance about what someone does, or who someone is?
give you?
.
12
2)
Are you afraid of being alone with yourself? Or do you enjoy it?
10)
Best act of kindness you ever did for your Significant Other?
11)
Is self-indulgence wrong? Is self-discipline right?
12)
Who do you know who lives at peace with him or herself?
13
13)
How much are your friends worth to your
14)
What worries you enough to keep you up at night?
15)
What stands
someone?
16)
Is self-doubt necessary?
out
to you
the most
14
when
you
first meet
17)
What is the biggest obstacle you have ever overcome?
18)
When, if ever, is it acceptable to remain silent in spite of serious
injustice?
3)
What do you do when you cannot undo the damage you have
caused?
20)
Is there something you ate committed to doing that others
consider a waste of time? How do you defend it?
15
21)
Decide now, or keep your options open?
22)
Who is the first person you talked with today? What is that
person’s role in your life?
23)
Better to be with strangers or alone?
24)
What
is something
no
one
paramount importance to your
16
seems
to talk about
that is of
25)
Will we live and die the same way our parents did, or can we
break free to something greater?
26)
Adventure: necessary part of life, or self-indulgence?
27)
Do you have a morning ritual? What's in it?
28)
Is time your friend or your enemy?
17
29)
Who would you want in your corner if you were in a truly
difficult situation?
30)
Do you want to learn another language? Which one? Why?
31)
What always makes you feel better?
32)
Is expressing your emotional reaction more authentic than a
reasoned response?
18
33)
How do you want to be remembered?
34)
How do you feel about yourself?
35)
What environment or surroundings most inspire you?
36)
Is it possible to love someone else if you do not love yourself?
i8
37)
Is success worth the pain and sacrifice to achieve it?
38)
Are rules meant to be followed, bent, or broken?
39)
Is heroism just another form of egoism?
40)
Can you have romance without sex or sexual attraction?
20
41)
42)
How good are you at telling others how good you really are?
Should we focus inward into ourselves or outward to the world
around us?
43)
Bend nature to your will, or harmonize with the environment?
44)
Take everything you can take, or give everything you can give?
21
45)
What causes evil in the world?
46)
Live the dream, or live and dream?
47)
What is the most
ourselves?
48)
What is the hardest life lesson you learned?
important
22
question we
should
all ask
49)
How often do you lie to others? To yourself?
50)
Simplify or diversify?
51)
What is worth more to you than life itself?
52)
What have you learned from failure?
23
53)
Get the job done quickly, or take your time?
54)
What truth would you most like to know about yourself?
55)
Do your possessions and wealth fairly measure your effort?
56)
Do you save money? Why?
24
5)
What is love? How do you show it?
58)
What does someone have to know about you in order to love
your
59)
Who’s an old friend you want to get in touch with?
60)
Truths to live by or shades of gray?
25
61)
Everyone needs a mentor: Agree or Disagree?
62)
What activity makes you lose all track of time?
63)
Go with the evidence or go with your gutr
64)
What
type
of person
becomes
a leader?
knowledge, and skills does a good leader have?
26
What
qualities,
65)
A sure sign that someone is an adult is...
66)
Is showing emotion a weakness? A strength?
67)
If you didn’t have to worry about money at all, what would you
do with your life?
68)
What is something no one seems to know or understand about
your
Zh
69)
Does venting make you feel better or does it make you feel
worse?
70)
Is the belief that things can be different the only problem?
rae)
What is your primary responsibility?
72)
Do your good intentions matter?
28
73)
What does “enlightenment” mean to you?
74)
What truth shattered everything you thought you knew?
75)
Mistakes: Own up, or cover up?
76)
What’s the most inspiring book you ever read?
29
te)
Always do your best, or coast when you can?
78)
Life purpose: Chosen, Discovered, or Revealed?
79)
What is your primary goal right now?
80)
What gives you that surge of confidence?
30
81)
One truth or many truths?
82)
Is taxation theft, or a contribution to a better society?
83)
Is friendship ever a bad thing?
84)
Does your sleep refresh you, or do you wake up tired?
aH
85)
What’s the greatest relationship in your life?
86)
Is success
cooperate?
87)
Does “truth” = “fact” Why or why not?
88)
Do you identify more
ethnicity, or the world?
built more
on
your
ability to compete
as a member
32
or to
of your country, your
89)
90)
When you are at a fork in the road, how do you choose which
path to taker
Blessed are the....
91)
Did you ever experience something that could not be put into
words?
92)
Books to read right now: Go!
55
93)
What if you can only control yourself?
94)
Judge others by your own standards, judge them by their
standards, or cease to judge at all?
95)
96)
| When was the last time you cried? Why?
Who is your hero, and why?
34
XL)
Are we all entitled to some minimum level of respect?
98)
Do you donate to charities? What kinds of charities do you
favor?
99)
In
love,
what
matters
more:
Romance
and _ spontaneity,
Commitment and stability, or Shared Goals and dreams?
100)
Challenge yourself or stay in your comfort zone?
35
101)
What activity best expresses the human spirit?
102)
Is life cyclical or linear?
103)
Be the one who says “Yes” or the one who says “Nop”
104)
What risk did you take that paid off
36
105)
What virtue do you most value in people? Do you possess it?
106)
Goals for the next 30 days: Go!
107)
Should you ever give in just to keep the peacer
108)
When you don’t get your way, what do you do then?
St.
109)
Ask someone you love a question that leaves you vulnerable.
Record the experience.
110)
What is the best thing you can do when you've had a really
tough day?
111)
What is the most romantic phrase you have ever heard?
112)
What is the one thing you know for sure?
38
113)
In what ways ate you creative?
114)
Is this life just a station on your soul’s journey?
115)
Do you buy what you need, or what you want?
116)
What sparks your curiosity?
59
117)
How would you survive if you had no money?
118)
What makes love “‘true?”
119)
If happiness is the life goal, what is happiness?
120)
Money: goal or distraction from the goal?
40
121)
Is your communication passive (silent seething), aggressive
(venting and blame), or assertive (frank statement of what you
want)?
122)
Lifes Fair or Untatre
123)
Have you ever done something that others said couldn’t be
done?
124)
Your intelligence style (Verbal,
Physical, Social, Spiritual)?
41
Logical,
Visual,
Musical,
125)
Are we worthy even if we take no action?
126)
Which comes first: success or happiness?
127)
Does it all start from within?
128)
Think it through, or leap in?
42
129)
Retire early or work as long as possible?
130)
How do you tell “investment” from “expense?”
131)
When does patience cease to be a virtue?
132)
What is your bad habit? How will you overcome ite
43
133)
Is “falling in love” really just another way to say “overwhelming
physical attraction?”
134)
What are you expecting to happen today? Is this expectation
hurting you or helping you?
135)
Are you starting out or finishing up?
136)
What would you do if there was no one there to judge you for
it?
44
137)
For everything gained must something be lost?
138)
What words or phrases “trigger” you? What
those triggers?
139)
Do you like being married, or would you like to get married?
Why?
140)
Is there ever one right way to do something?
45
fear underlies
141)
How powerful is the mind, really?
142)
More time or more money?
143)
Are we what we say, what we do, or what we feel?
144)
Do you always have a choice?
46
145)
What could you change by taking 100% of the responsibility?
146)
Does
the idea of morality and civilization
crumble
when
we
take away food, water, and shelter?
147)
What goes into making a day wonderful for you?
148)
Stick to a schedule? Or do things as long as they are interesting?
47
149)
Which household chores are your primary responsibility?
150)
What is more precious: Time, money, beauty, love, wisdom?
151)
What negative thoughts will you let go of today?
152)
Describe your perfect Utopia.
48
153)
When, if ever, is anger an appropriate response?
154)
Where do your waking hours go?
155)
Live a long, serene life, or a short, passionate one?
156)
How important is your own comfort compared to the needs of
others?
49
157)
Do you value your own opinion more than that of others?
158)
Is there a rule you live by? If so, what is it?
159)
More powerful: Sexuality or Sensuality?
160)
What is the human trait, behavior, or attitude that you most
struggle to tolerate?
50
161)
Does being in nature make you feel more free or joyful? Why?
162)
Stand out? Or be effective behind the scenes?
163)
Must happiness be pursued, or does pursuing it just make it
harder to attain?
164)
Family first? Friends first? Or everyone equally?
Si
165)
What can you say that will set things right?
166)
Is advice ever really helpful?
167)
Reveal a truth that will cause great harm, or allow people to live
in a happy but false state?
168)
Are secrets and lies two forms of the same thing?
52
169)
Who, if anyone,
lesson?
170)
Spend money on things, people, or experiences?
171)
Seek help, or go it alone?
172)
Does marriage add to the experience of love or take something
taught you about money?
away?
53
What
was
the
173)
Are you kind to others? To yourself?
174)
Do you make time for play? What is play for your
175)
What was the most unexpected thing that happened in your
life?
176)
Who in society deserves the most respect?
54
177)
Does the truth have to hurt?
178)
Self-start, or wait for guidance?
179)
Can there be such a thing as eternal love?
180)
Would it be better if more of us thought like children? Why?
55
181)
What was the low point of your life? How did you come back
from that?
182)
Are the small moments in life worth more than we give them
credit for?
183)
What will you do today to build connection to others? Who will
you connect with first?
184)
What would you do if you believed you would succeed?
56
185)
Is there such a thing as a “noble failure”?
186)
What guides your every decision?
187)
How important is your own appearance?
188)
What do you do when you reach your limit?
SZ
189)
Put down roots or stay on the move?
190)
To what extent do external events
reaction?
191)
Are you attracted to toxic or negative people or situations?
What is the allure?
192)
Who do you know that is struggling right now?
anything you can do to help?
58
control your emotional
Is there
193)
Is there something today that everyone believes which will be
proven false in the years to come?
194)
Is it better to have all the questions, or all the answers?
195)
What is a dream you had which made a great impact on you?
196)
Is each day mostly routine, or is it a fantastic new experience?
whey
197)
Your next investment in yourself is...
198)
How can you be certain that you truly know something?
199)
What are you thankful for right now?
200)
If you lived in a Utopia and everything was perfect, what would
become your goal then?
60
201)
What do you hesitate to do today that would provide you with
a better tomorrow?
202)
What shows that two people are deeply in love?
203)
But who are you, really?
204)
“A kiss is just a kiss.” True or False?
61
205)
What moral judgments do you make of rich people? Of poor
people?
206)
When is doing nothing wiser than doing something?
207)
What happens when you talk with your partner about money?
208)
Can you do it if “everybody does it?”
62
209)
What’s the best thing you ever did?
210)
Buy it on credit, or save and buy it later?
211)
What emotion or feeling do you experience the most? Is there a
reason for this?
212)
How well can you control your emotional reactions?
63
213)
Can someone be truly altruistic, or are all deeds ultimately
rooted in self-interest?
214)
How has lost love affected you?
215)
What is the key to relating to another human being?
216)
Does your career plan include the idea of service to others?
Why ot why not?
64
217)
When is the right time to pursue your dreams?
218)
Get insurance, or take the risk of going without itr
219)
Let the future take care of itself. How does that feel?
220)
Is it better to feel sad, or to feel nothing?
65
221)
Did you ever make a lot of money? What did you learn from
that?
222)
What's the biggest physical risk you ever took? Was it worth it?
223)
When you were a child, what did you dream of becoming one
day?
224)
What does the word “right” mean when we talk about “doing
the right thing?”
66
225)
People think you are always....
226)
To what problem are you the solution?
227)
Are you able to admit that you are wrong?
228)
Embrace maturity or retain your inner child?
67
229)
What is the gift you are “paying forward?”
230)
If the stock market crashed today, how would it affect you?
How would you react?
231)
Is lite hard or easy? Simple or complicated?
232)
Your first accomplishment today was:
68
233)
Have you ever felt unlike yourself?
234)
What are you hoping to hear?
205
Take y your deepest
darkest secrets to the grave,
grave, or share them
P
with a trusted soul?
236)
Change the world, or leave it alone?
69
237)
Teach yourself or rely on the experts?
238)
How do you give something back?
239)
If you could change one quality about yourself, what would it
be?
240)
Is it enough to love one person? Is it possible to be in love with
more than one person at a time?
70
241)
What’s the best thing in the moment that you read this?
242)
Are you generous with friends and family?
243)
How is “falling in love” different from “being in love?”
244)
Is life a dream, an illusion, or is this the real thing?
71
245)
Are stories or facts more important?
246)
Jack of all trades, or master of one?
247)
When is it okay to be vulnerable and when must we be strong?
Or is vulnerability a show of strength?
248)
What, if any, is the difference between wealth and money?
72
249)
What is “enough” for you?
250)
How does your spiritual belief affect how you think and
behave?
251)
Avoid temptation, resist temptation, or embrace temptation?
252)
Do you find that investing money in yourself pays off well?
73
253)
Give up on the people who drag you down, or search for a way
to lift them up?
254)
What is the greatest test of character you have ever faced?
255)
What do you wait all week to do on the weekend?
256)
Have you ever felt a deep connection with someone you had
only just met? Why do you think this was?
74
257)
Are we finite creatures on a finite journey, or are we part of a
greater infinity that we cannot fully perceive?
258)
Choose sides or remain detached?
259)
Today I'll make someone happy by....
260)
What earns your trust?
75
261)
Does how you do a deed affect its goodness?
262)
Are exceptions or double standards ever OK?
263)
What amount of money would it take for you to consider
forsaking your deeply held values?
264)
How can you prove that you love someone?
76
265)
What is your favorite thing about your present or most recent
romantic partner?
266)
When does “lending a hand” truly help?
267)
One eternal love, or many loves?
268)
Would more money make it easier or more difficult to connect
with others?
77
269)
Buy, tent, or barter?
270)
Is self-employment preferable to salaried employment?
271)
If we love different people in different ways, what does “love”
mean?
272)
What is the most valuable skill you possess?
78
273)
Does being busy increase or decrease your efficiency?
274)
Is it more worthwhile to be curious or to be smart?
275)
Why do money and power sometimes bring out the worst in
people?
276)
Live as if you will die tomorrow, or as if you never will?
pfs)
277)
What would change if you gave it your mindful attention?
278)
What is your hidden talent or ability?
279)
What do you do when you are running late, but someone needs
your help right away?
280)
Where have all the years gone?
80
281)
Conform to the average of our companions, or break free from
theit expectations?
282)
What most attracts you romantically?
283)
Live within your means or make more money?
284)
Leave a compliment for someone hete.
81
285)
Are you driven by circumstance, or are you living life on your
own terms?
286)
Do people ever change?
287)
Can fear be put to good use?
288)
Abstinence or altered states?
82
289)
Who best knows your most real self?
290)
Can love stand still, or must it always grow to survive?
291)
Is there such a thing as “no strings attached?”
292)
Where does the love go?
83
293)
Are you a true introvert or a shy extrovert?
294)
Is true beauty something that we see or is it something that
comes from within?
295)
Are you in the process of fulfilling your dreams, or is there an
obstacle in your path?
296)
If you work hard, will good things happen?
84
297)
Do you generally pay for quality, or prefer the bargain option?
298)
Do you expect more from yourself, or from those around you?
299)
In what area of your life do you have the most discipline? In
what area do you have the least?
300)
How do your parents treat each other?
85
301)
Congratulate to encourage, or criticize to push?
302)
Yowll know you have succeeded when....
303)
What does it mean to be a human being?
304)
Would you rather be rational, practical, or creative?
86
305)
What if “should” were eliminated from your vocabulary?
306)
What does “love yourself” really mean — if anything?
307)
Who 1s the wisest person you know?
308)
Are you the same person from moment to moment, or have
you died and been reborn many times?
87
309)
Is not having the time to do something just an excuse?
4114
How far arene you willing
to go to pursue your own advantage: a)
311)
Take what you need, or receive what is given?
312)
If you could have a meeting with anyone living or dead, who
would it be and why?
88
313)
Is it what you say, or how you say it, that counts?
314)
Criticism: When does accepting it produce growth, and when
does accepting it mean submission?
315)
What do you most want to share with yout romantic partner?
316)
How do we judge whether something is good or bad?
89
317)
Love relationships: worth saving or ditch and start over?
318)
Do the right thing knowing you will be punished for it, or do
the wrong thing knowing you will be rewarded for 1t?
319)
Henry David Thoreau said: “The mass of men lead lives of
quiet desperation.” Agree or disagree?
320)
What was the biggest lie you ever told, and what happened as a
result?
90
321)
Who/What
are the people, things, or experiences that make
you feel happiest?
322)
Give
someone
your
;
mindful
attention.
What
do yyou see that
you had missed?
323)
Is life about making sacrifices or putting yourself first?
324)
What responsibility do you have to your kids? Your parents?
91
325)
How
much
of what
we
fear is instinctive?
How
much
is
learned?
326)
Describe what falling in love feels like to you.
327)
Is existence alone enough?
328)
Who in your life is most critical of your choices? Or is it
yourself
SZ
329)
Do you prefer investments that come with great risks but great
potential rewards, or safe investments that come with low risks
and low potential for rewards?
330)
How much do past events determine what will happen today?
331)
Is there such a thing as a waste of time?
332)
Who ot what do you hope to be in 20 years?
93
333)
Did you ever lose a lot of money? What did you learn from
that?
334)
Did you ever take a different lesson than the one someone was
trying to teach your
335)
Self-esteem: problem or solution?
336)
Biggest decision you'll make today is...
94
337)
Does everything we do have unintended consequences?
338)
If you expect to succeed where no one else has succeeded, are
you daring or just a fool?
339)
Do you possess a quality that has caused much good, but much
harm as well?
340)
What is the highest, finest expression oflove?
95
341)
Do you dismiss people with life experiences counter to your
own, or do you truly listen?
342)
Is it harder for you to get started, or to finish?
343)
When do you know that you are loved?
344)
Choose the path of money
admiration?
96
and
power,
or
respect
and
345)
What would you do all day long if you could?
346)
You know you’te just procrastinating when....
347)
What did you once believe that you now know to be false?
348)
Have you ever felt completely lost and confused, where you
had no idea what to do with yourself? How did you overcome
this?
OF
349)
Is all fair in love?
350)
How does almost dying change things?
351)
Are we all searching for something? What are you searching
for?
352)
What’s the next thing you want to learn?
98
353)
What is the question you were asked which caught you off
guard or surprised you the most?
354)
What makes a person truly exceptional? Is it something you are
born with or discover?
355)
Do you simply act, or do you observe yourself taking action?
356)
What matters more, knowledge, understanding, or application?
99
357)
Correct people when you know that they are wrong, or let them
learn through experience?
358
Does
havingren) an “Impossible
Dream”
increase or decrease life
satisfaction?
359)
Have you ever felt personally touched by a spirit or higher
power?
100
360)
What is something that you feel is beneath you, that you are too
good for?
361)
What do you
yourself
362)
How can you know if the lesson you learned from a bad
experience was the right one?
find most
attractive
101
in another
person?
In
363)
Does what you are looking for come from looking inward or
looking outward?
364)
Are we responsible for the well-being of others? Why?
365)
When you are surrounded by paths that all stress and worry
you, how do you decide what to do?
102
Conclusion
We have come to the end of this book, and I am deeply impressed with
your accomplishment. Since you have made it this far, you have
answered many, many questions by now. If you have followed the
guidelines in the Introduction and How to Use This Book, then you have
certainly made an enormous effort. The guidelines asked a lot of you,
and the questions asked even more. I imagine that this experience has
changed you at some level, and change is demanding. Thank you for
allowing this book to facilitate your self-exploration and personal
growth.
I am curious to learn more about your experience. Did you look
forward to your daily question time every day, eagerly diving into the
private world of your mind? Or were there days when you felt too
exhausted to go on, sick of questioning yourself? Has the process made
you surer or less sure of your convictions? Do you now have a
stronger, clearer self-image or has the self you thought you knew
dissolved into ever-deepening mystery? You see, no matter how many
questions you have answered already, there will always be more. But I
really want to leave the next generation of questions to you, rather than
addressing my own curiosity.
Let me just say why I am curious, though. You are genuinely
fascinating! You have dared to examine yourself, to challenge your
beliefs, to look into the mystery of who you ate and where you come
from. Few people would have the courage to do this, and fewer would
take the time to challenge themselves at this level. You should feel
proud of yourself.
Before you go, I would like to offer you three perspectives on your
accomplishment, and a final gift. The first perspective is that Curiosity
is precious. The desire to ask questions and learn more makes life rich
and rewarding. I hope that working your way through this book has
triggered the child-like instinct to ask more questions, especially
“Why?” When we examine the world around us, consider the lives of
others, and simply enjoy the wonder of the Universe, our lives are full.
103
It is also important
to Question
what
we
know.
This
does
not
necessarily mean rejecting what we know, like deciding to believe that
the Earth is flat when
we
know
that it is round.
Instead, it means
asking how we know what we know. The Earth really is round, but
how do you know? It could be the famous picture of the Harth taken
from space, the different angle of sunlight throughout the year, or, as
Galileo noted as a young man, that the tops of ships are seen coming
over the curve
of the Earth, only later revealing the bottom.
Your
criteria for knowing should be much stronger after this year of daily
exercise:
Finally, I would like to point out that Answers have many forms. I
touched on this in the introduction. Convergent questions have only
one right answer; divergent questions have many right answers.
Convergent
questions
ate
found
in
classrooms,
while
divergent
questions are the stuff of life. You may have become aware that there
are many possible answers to life’s challenges, which vary from person
to person and moment to moment. You may even have had multiple
answers at the moment you responded to a question. This wealth of
possibility is what creativity is all about. Be creative with your answers
to the important questions in your life and understand that it is
perfectly fine to have multiple answers or perspectives to one question.
This means that you are growing as a person.
104
I have one final gift for you. Although the questions in the book are in
no particular order, and you were encouraged to answer them at
The questions correspond to 11
random, there is a hidden structure.
broad categories. By examining your answers to questions in a
particular category, you may get a bird’s-eye-view of your relationship
with that area of your life. Here are the categories, and the questions
that correspond to them:
Identity: 1; 5; 9; 16; 25; 33; 35; 65; 68; 71; 78; 79; 80; 88; 96; 104; 113;
1322 15451 35"143- F472 152; 171s 2752 181: 186: 187: 188: 195-196:
UO
0
ae 2
Oo
ee, 2355. 2547 2508 2414 2a
ender
DN 253302; 30393272359: 341 B44. 360
Relating to Others: 4; 13; 15; 22; 23; 29; 41; 44; 59; 64; 83; 85; 93; 94;
Die OS O72
1s) 1452560: 162271 64:7165: 1732-1 7601 83:31 9141 922453
228 28 2547 260s 2802028402891 293~ 298.30
1305135, 3145224624:
328; 357; 361
Love: o10; 36: 40357255; 99-109 11 ie 116° 1337139) 159-172: 179s
20222204: 214° 240; 243; 256: 264: 205; 267; 2715 282: 2905 292: 300;
306; 315; 317; 326; 340; 349
Action: 17; 26; 27; 43; 50; 84; 89; 100; 101; 110; 123; 128; 140; 149;
1A ASA 189° 20125206; 209% 222° 23272515 280) 288: 295; 296; 336:
342,345 355
Ethiessot
ba18 19397 246450 ae 40> 2s bss 105. 125; 131s 136;
44s AG 158) 1682 18522089 215; 216) 224; 236; 236; 253; 2015 262;
2665299: 30533107316; 3138) 323;-599) 364
a iam Bal
Spirituality: 12; 45; 46; 51; 70; 73; 90; 91; 102; it ss sede rN
308;
298;
294;
277;
151; 182; 199; 219; 231; 244; 250; 254; 257; 276;
911). 319: 350; 3515 358; 359
Feelings: 3; 7; 14; 24; 31; 32; 34; 63; 66; 69; 95; 119; 126; 138; 153;
P5691012165: 190 211. 212; 220-259" 287-321, 525; 938; 3485365
105
Knowledge and Learning: 2; 21; 30; 47; 48; 52; 61; 1 O7923, Ab22 116;
124; 141; 166; 180; 194; 198; 237; 246; 274; 304; 307; 312; 330; 334;
952755509942 35013027503
Money: 6; 55;56; 67; 82; 86; 98; 108; 115; 117; 120; 129,130; 1425 169;
1702205; 20772102 218)221- 230" 242 246924952; 2657 200; 200;
210 27522895 2913297995
Truth: 545.60; 742815 87: 157216721 7461937 245: 29 le 320337 a7
Time? 203-28; 53°62:106- 1482154 155/64
309733917332: 346
21
7925572753 27 eo:
I hope that you will enjoy reading your answers in each category.
Perhaps you will find that your thinking evolved over time, and that
your thinking about a particular area has changed in this year of selfexamination. I hope that is true. The aim of this book is to expand
your mind and offer you new possibilities in life.
I must say goodbye now, but if all has gone well, you need never miss
me. You are now the questioner, the seeker of insight and truth. You
have developed new skills and mental power.
revived. Your journey is just beginning.
106
Your
curiosity has
Thank You
Thank you for taking the time to read Question Yourself. 1 hope that you
found the information useful. Just remember that a key part of the
learning process 1s putting what you read into practice.
Before you go, I want to invite you to pick up your free copy of S7p
Up Your Learning: Free Tools to Learn Almost Anything. All you have to do
is type this link into your browser:
http://mentalmax.net/EN
Also, if you have any questions, comments, or feedback about this
book, you can send me (Dave Edelstein) a message and I'll get back to
you as soon as possible. My email address is:
edelsteinworld@gmail.com
For questions about business matters or foreign rights, please email my
co-author, I. C. Robledo at:
ic.robledo@mentalmax.net
107
Did You Learn Something New?
If you found value in this book, please review it on Amazon so I can
stay focused on writing more great books. Even a short one or two
sentences would be helpful.
108
An Invitation to the “Master Your
Mind” Community (on Facebook)
I dd. C. Robledo) founded a community where we can share advice or
tips on our journey to mastering the mind. Whether you want to be a
better learner, improve your creativity, get focused, or work on other
such goals, this will be a place to find helpful information and a
supportive network. | hope you join us and commit to taking your
mind to a higher level.
To go directly to the page to join the community, you may type this
into your web browser:
https://mentalmax.net/FB
109
More Books by I. C. Robledo
365 Quotes to Live Your Life By - FREE eBook!
7 Thoughts to Live Your Lite By —-#1 Recommended
Read
The Intellectual Toolkit of Geniuses
Master Y our Focus
The Smart Habit Guide
No One Ever Taught Me How to Learn
55 Smart Apps to Level Up Your Brain
Ready, Set, Change
Smart Life Book Bundle (Books 1-6)
The Secret Principles of Genius
Idea Hacks
Practical
Memory
365 (pats to Live Your Life By
7 Thoughts to Live Your Life By
The Insightful Reader
To see the full list of authored books, visit:
https://mentalmax.net/AMZbks
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Made in the USA
Middletown, DE
05 June 2020
UI
6659996R00066
What Are Your Solutions to Life's Questions?
Here, you will find 365 questions designed to open up your
mind to think about yourself and your place in the world in
new ways. With these questions, you may come to powerful
realizations that will help you to improve yourself, the people
around you, and maybe even the world.
Most self-develooment books present you with solutions to
common problems. This can be helpful, but what if those
solutions work for most people, but not you? Perhaps what
you need is a book of questions to help stimulate you to
find useful solutions for your unique situation. Maybe you
always had the solutions deep down somewhere inside of
you, and you just needed the right questions to help guide
you to them.
:
About the Authors
Dave Edelstein is an educator and life coach who received
his A.B. in philosophy from Harvard and an M.S. in plant and soil
sciences from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He
has enjoyed a varied career in rural development, environmental
protection, and education.
|. C. Robledo is an internationally bestselling author who received
his B.A. from Purdue University in psychology, and his M.S.
from the University of Oklahoma in industrial-organizational
psychology. His books are meant to help readers build thei
intellectual, creative, and mindful abilities.