Life Questions to Ponder (By Charlie Badenhop)

Do you feel like something is missing in your life, that something is missing within yourself? Realizing that
you are always changing, how can you feel complete when your life is yet to be complete? It is important
to regularly update your perception of who you are. If not, you will be mistakenly perceiving yourself as
you were in the past.

Do you appreciate who you are and the challenges you have successfully faced? If you don’t feel that
something is missing in you, then you won’t feel that something is missing in your life.

Eugene O’Neill said, “Life is for each man a solitary cell, whose walls are mirrors.” When you look to
change what you see in the mirror, realize that the mirror is only reflecting what you believe to be true.
Change your beliefs and you will change what the mirror reflects back to you. Wayne Dyer said, "When
you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change."

You will be happy when you are thankful for what you do already have. Chances are, that you take for
granted the many things you have. This is a common “mistake” we all often make.

Are you so busy searching for answers that you don’t take the time to be happy?

Swami Chetanananda said, "Life is not about finding answers. It is about learning to live in the middle of
complete uncertainty and doing so gracefully."

John Lennon said, "Life is what happens to you when you're making other plans."

Have you noticed that you tend to have an habitual way of responding to the world that stops you from
responding in a more solution oriented manner? How would changing your beliefs change some of your
habits? What will you need to do differently if you are to live the life you truly desire?

Do you actively think about how you can help make those around you feel happy and fulfilled?

Doesn’t it make you feel good when you are around people who are playful and smile often?

Have you realized yet that regardless of the circumstances of your life, you can be happy?

Every time you find yourself feeling happy, you are investing in your future and those you care about.

You are your most important relationship. You must first have a healthy relationship with yourself before
you can have a healthy relationship with others. The more you love and appreciate yourself the more you
will be able to connect with others. The more you love and appreciate yourself the greater the likelihood of
finding suitable, emotionally healthy partners.

Spend some time alone every day. Spending some time by yourself will strengthen your ability to be in
healthy relationships with others.

Are you uncertain about your path in life? Pablo Neruda said, “All paths lead to the same goal, To convey
to others what we are. And we must pass through solitude and difficulty, isolation and silence, in order to
reach forth to the enchanted place where we can dance our clumsy dance and sing our sorrowful song--
But in this dance or in this song there are fulfilled the most ancient rites of our consciousness.”

Carl Sagan said, “If nothing we do matters, all that matters is what we do.”
The goal you work on today, determines who you will be tomorrow. If you don’t have a clear dream you
are working to fulfill, it will be all too easy to give into the emotions of the moment

Ask yourself, “If I take this action now, how will I be impacting the course of my future?”

If not now, when?