100 Powerful Questions to Get To Know Yourself

Understanding yourself is the first step you must take if you want a fulfilling life.

When you understand yourself, you can understand:

what you’re feeling and why,
what you want to do with your life,
who you want to surround yourself with,
which experiences you want on your bucket list,
and so much more.

When I was stuck in life a couple of years ago, I couldn’t even pinpoint what I didn’t like about what I was doing.

I kept looking for answers on the outside instead of devoting time to self-reflection; I was looking at what other “successful” people in my field were doing and trying to replicate their moves instead of exploring what I actually wanted to do.

I learned the lesson the hard way because it took me years to understand what was happening inside of me.

In this post, you’ll find 100 questions to get to know yourself (that aren’t “what’s your favorite movie?” or “what would you save first if your house catches fire?”) to connect with your feelings, understand yourself and paint a more or less complete picture of who you are today.

I say “more or less complete” because you’re not static.

You’re constantly changing and improving because every:

Conversation you have,
Movie you see,
Song you hear,
Or thought you think has the ability to change who you are.

There’s always more to learn about yourself.

So, how well do you know yourself?

Let’s find out 🙂

100 Questions to Get To Know Yourself Better

For this massive list of questions, I’ve divided them into 10 categories, 10 questions each.

Not all get-to-know-yourself questions are created equal, so I wanted to give you the option to choose the ones you’re the most interested in.

10 questions about your daily life

Understanding what you do day to day and seeing it from a different perspective can help you see things like:

which habits are stopping you from reaching your goals
what you may be taking for granted
how you talk to yourself in your head
which emotions you’re constantly feeling and if there’s something you want to do about them.

Here are ten questions that’ll help you better understand yourself and your daily life.

What are you grateful to have in your daily life?
List the top things you think about the most. How do those thoughts make you feel? Out of those thoughts, which are worth thinking about?
List the top activities you do the most. How do those activities make you feel? Out of those things, which are worth your time?
What could you do to improve your daily routine?
Pay attention to your thoughts today. Is there a recurring thought you’d like to get rid of?
What have you been postponing lately? Why are you avoiding it?
What’s the thing you crave the most? How do you think that thing is going to make your life better?
List all the ways in which you could make your days better.
List all the bad habits you’d like to get rid of. Why are they bad, in your opinion?
How do you usually feel every day?

10 questions about your mindset

These questions will help you understand how you think when it comes to things like:

success
making progress
and taking action.

If you feel stuck in life, these questions can help you see which aspects of your mindset may be standing between you and your progress.

How do you measure success? What does success mean to you?
Do you believe one day you’ll be successful the way you want?
Make a list of all the traits successful people have in common.
How does making a mistake at work make you feel/think about yourself?
Do you believe in your ability to make your dreams happen?
Would you say you allow yourself to make mistakes?
Do you take responsibility for your mistakes, or do you tend to blame others?
What does “making progress” mean to you? How much progress is good progress?
Do you tend to make excuses? How can you work around them?
Are you a pessimist or an optimist? Why?

10 questions about your dream life

Having a hard time knowing what you want in life? These questions can help you uncover your aspirations and dreams.

I believe you know deep down what you want in life.

You don’t need anybody to tell you.

What’s happening is that all those dreams are covered by a layer of fear or shame.

Give these questions a try. answer them honestly, and they may lead you to uncover your next path in life.

In your opinion, what does it mean to live a “meaningful” life?
What change do you want to make in the world?
How would your perfect day be from the moment you wake up to the moment you go to bed?
Do you feel like you deserve to have what you want? Do you feel worthy of your dreams and goals?
If you keep doing what you’re doing now, where will you be in one year? How does that thought make you feel?
What’s the ideal amount of money you’d like to have in your bank account?
Which objects, styles, smells, and feelings best describe your ideal life? What does that say about what you want?
1. For example, you may be drawn to minimalist homes in the mountains or a penthouse in the middle of the city.
What’s preventing you from taking action?
- I’d love to [blank], but I haven’t because [blank].
What are you willing to sacrifice to get what you want in life?
What can you do today to start building your dream life?

10 questions about your past

If you don’t understand your past, you can’t understand yourself fully.

Dive deep into some of the experiences that shaped you with these questions about your past.

Take this opportunity to see those experiences for what they are: memories.

Seeing them that way can help you let go of what doesn’t serve you anymore.

If you could go back in time, what would you change? How would that affect you today?
Is there something you no longer do that you’d like to do again?
Which memory, person, or feeling do you need to let go of?
Why do you think you haven’t let that go yet? Why would it be beneficial to get over it?
Which piece of advice would you give your younger self? Where does that advice come from?
What mistake or rough time taught you something you’re grateful for today?
Think about a mistake you made. How did you react? What did you tell yourself? What does that say about you?
Describe a traumatic or sad past event, and list everything you learned about it.
If you could meet with a version of your past self that was going through a rough patch, what would you tell her or him?
If your past self could get a glimpse into the future and see where you are today and what you’re doing, what would she or he say?

10 questions about your feelings

How do you feel, really?

With these questions about your feelings, you’ll get honest about your emotions, which will help you understand yourself better.

How often do you ignore your own feelings and/or what your gut’s trying to tell you?
What makes you feel discouraged?
What’s the longest you’ve been mad at someone? Would you say you tend to hold grudges for too long?
How do you feel when you’re in new environments with new people?
How do you feel about what you do for a living?
What’s something you think you’ll never do? Why?
Are you assertive, passive, or aggressive when you’re angry?
Is there something you often feel that you no longer want to feel?
How do you act when you’re under pressure?
How do you behave when you’re dealing with difficult emotions? Do you usually let them bottle up? Or are you good at handling them in a healthy way?

10 questions for your future self

These questions can help you uncover more of what you want and see your life from a different perspective.

They are fun and maybe a little challenging to answer, but I’m sure they’ll help you see things you ignore right now.

What can you start doing today to make your future self happier and more fulfilled?
Make a list of all the things you want to be doing in 12 months. You can also include things you want to have and ways in which you’d like to feel a year from now.
How do you picture your life 20 years from now? How do you feel about that?
Are you doing challenging things today that will make your life better in the future? List them.
Where does your future self live?
What do you want to feel proud of in 1 to 3 years?
What are you doing in the next 6-12 months to become the person you want to be?
What do you think your future self deserves?
Imagine you’re on your deathbed. What do you regret not doing?
Describe how you want your life to be when you retire.

10 questions about self-growth

These questions are all about your personal growth and becoming the person you want to be.

By answering these questions, you’ll be able to understand what you can start doing right now to move the needle and grow as a person.

What does self-growth mean to you?
Do you consider yourself a self-aware person?
There’s always room for improvement in every area of life. Which actions can you take to improve yours?
When was the last time you took a risk? Was it worth it?
List three life lessons you’ve learned and will never forget.
Have you taken action to change, improve or leave situations (or people, habits, etc.) that add little to no value to your life? Do you have a plan to do so? If not, why not?
Do you think you communicate effectively? Why?
Do you consider yourself an emotionally intelligent person? If not, list the things you’d like to improve in that area.
Is the fear of rejection or failure stopping you from taking action? Which tiny steps can you take to start facing those fears?
Have you grown as a person in the last 12 months? How?

10 questions about your relationships

You’re not an island.

Whether you like it or not, your relationships are part of the mix that makes you who you are.

Use the following questions to explore the relationships that make you happy and those that don’t.

When you meet someone, what makes you instantly like/dislike them? What do you think is the reason behind that?
If your relationships with someone else improved, would you feel more at peace with yourself?
What can you do to improve or keep nurturing your relationships?
How do you express your feelings for people you care about or love? What’s your love language?
How do you feel about your most important relationships?
How often do you put yourself in other people’s shoes?
Describe the love partner you think you deserve.
What’s something you’d like to tell a loved one but haven’t found the courage to say?
Is there something you need to apologize for?
What do you blame your family for?

10 questions about self-love and self-confidence

Are you giving yourself the love you deserve?

If you aren’t, that can tell you many things about yourself.

Is your negative self-talk taking over? Are you blaming yourself, and thus punishing yourself, for something in your past?

Or are you treating yourself the way toxic people in your life used to treat you?

If you’re always feeling like you’re not good enough to do the things you want to do, the questions below can help.

Get honest about how much you love and trust yourself; that’ll tell you a lot about yourself.

What’s something people see in you that makes them love you or look up to you?
What fear have you overcome, and how did you do it?
How would you describe a self-confident person? Which of those traits would you like to have?
What are the reasons you’re thankful for your body?
Make a list of 5 to 10 things you love about yourself.
Make a list of 3-5 things you’ve accomplished and feel proud of. It can be anything that was challenging for you, but you did anyway.
Do you speak up when you feel taken advantage of or abused?
What are you good at?
Are you taking care of your mental and physical health? How?
How often do you celebrate yourself and your accomplishments?

10 questions about your personality

What’s your personality like?

We all adapt our behavior to the place we’re in or who we’re with, but your personality is always there.

Understanding your personality can give you more ideas about:

what you want to do
which type of person you want a relationship with
how big your dreams are
and more.

From 1-10, how self-confident are you? If it’s low, do you think your self-confidence is holding you back?
Which are your top 3 values in life? Check out a helpful list of personal values here.
Do you tend to act on your ideas, dreams, or goals to make them happen?
How do you behave under stressful situations?
From 1 to 10, how ambitious are you?
How do you deal with stressful situations and overwhelm?
How do you respond to criticism or feedback?
1. How do you tend to react if a coworker says your performance could improve and offers constructive criticism?
How do you react when something bothers you?
1. Passive: just go with the flow and expect it to solve on its own.
2. Aggressive: you get defensive and don’t think twice before making a fuss about it.
3. Assertive: you focus on fixing the problem in a mature way and make compromises if necessary.
Do you tend to do things to impress others?
After answering all these questions, how would you describe yourself?

Other Exercises to Get To Know Yourself

I always recommend journaling to deal with many different obstacles in life.

If you liked this huge list of prompts, then you’ll LOVE the Self-Discovery Bundle, a collection of journaling workbooks to:

Organize what’s on your mind
Get clear about what you want and what matters to you
Uncover what’s stopping YOU from taking action
Ditch your bad habits and build a routine that works for you
Understand the mental obstacles that stand between you and your dream life
Start turning your inner critic into your biggest cheerleader

… And so much more!

Why Is It Important to Know Yourself

Self-discovery has many benefits, but here are the top reasons why knowing yourself better is important.

It helps you:

live more intentionally because you know what you want and what you don’t
love and celebrate yourself
make peace with your past
get rid of bad habits that may take you down the wrong path.

The Bottom Line

These questions to know yourself can help you find direction in life and get unstuck, but only if you take the time to explore and be honest with yourself.

Grab a notebook and a pen, choose one of the categories above and just start writing your answers to the questions.

You’ll see that one question will lead you to more than one answer if you keep writing and being honest.

100 Powerful Questions to Get To Know Yourself