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! April 2020 "

55+ Self-Discovery
Questions for Personal
Growth [+ Printables]

When you’re balancing work, school, family, and a

social life, it can sometimes feel di!cult and
unimportant to make time for yourself. For
graduate students, it can feel like your
coursework is taking over, leading to stress and
test anxiety.

It’s important to address these feelings when they

come up, so they don’t progress into burnout.
Check in with yourself on a regular basis so you
can understand the root of your discomfort and
remind yourself of your strengths, values, and
goals. Practicing self-re"ection and asking self-
discovery questions can be an empowering way
to challenge your beliefs, gain clarity on your life’s
path, and apply creative solutions to the
challenges you face.

Bene#ts of Self-
Re"ection

Self-re"ection means taking the time to look both

more deeply into yourself—and more broadly at
the external forces that are shaping your life.
Practicing self-re"ection takes honesty and
discipline. Meditation, journal writing, and
contemplative thought are all powerful tools for
self-re"ection. Cultivate the practice that
resonates for you. Self-re"ection can help you:

Develop emotional intelligence

Increase your con#dence
Strengthen your integrity
Start communicating more clearly
Strengthen your relationships
Learn to make sounder decisions
Gain insight about optimizing your skillset

Weekly Self-Discovery
Questions

To help spark your practice of self-re"ection,

we’ve put together a list of 57 self-discovery
questions to ask yourself. Start with one each day
and, after a couple of weeks, increase this to 10 to
15 per week. You can explore answers in a
journal, in your head, or by #lling out the blanks
in the printables below.

Self
1. What are three of my most cherished values?
2. What is my purpose in life?
3. What is my personality type?
4. Did I make time for myself this week?
5. Am I making time for my social life?
6. What scares me the most right now?
7. What is something I #nd inspiring?
8. What is something that brings me joy?
9. When is the last time I gave back to others?
10. What matters to me most right now?
11. What’s something I would like to do more of
and why?
12. What’s something I would like to do less of
and why?
13. What three words describe me best?
14. What keeps me awake at night?
15. How important is my physical health to me?
16. How important is my mental health to me?
17. Have I been holding myself back in any way?
18. What obstacles get in the way of my
happiness?
19. What are my greatest gifts?
20. What could I do to be happier?

School
21. What do I love about my classes?
22. What do I hate about my classes?
23. What assignments am I putting o$?
24. What is making me feel down about school?
25. What is my biggest accomplishment in school?
26. What is my biggest challenge at school right
now?
27. What am I doing to overcome these
challenges?
28. What motivates me to go to school?
29. Am I involved in school organizations?
30. Do I #nd myself feeling envious of my peers?
31. How do I de-stress at school?
32. What distracts me the most from homework?
33. How do I measure my success at school?

Career
34. What are the positives about my job?
35. What about my job causes stress?
36. What is my biggest accomplishment at work?
37. Do I feel ful#lled at work?
38. Do I feel challenged at work?
39. Have I made any mistakes at work lately—and
how did I learn from them?
40. Who inspires me in my career?
41. Do I feel comfortable standing up for myself
at work?
42. Do I feel seen and heard at work?
43. What are some skills I need to improve on?
44. What is my de#nition of success?
45. How do I de#ne work-life balance?
46. Do I consider my work to be purposeful?
47. If I didn’t get paid, would I still enjoy my job?

Family
48. Whom do I go to when I need advice?
49. How am I feeling in my family life?
50. What makes me happiest about my family?
51. Are there certain family members who drain
my energy?
52. Did a family member make me smile this
week and why?
53. Am I holding grudges against a family
member? If so, why?
54. What is my favorite memory about my family?
55. Do I listen to my family more than myself?
56. What am I thankful for about my family?
57. Which family member do I admire most?

In the same way that adding laughter to your life

can reduce stress, checking in with yourself each
week can strengthen your emotional intelligence
and provide clarity. Graduate students are always
on a journey to self-discovery—#nding a work-life
balance and understanding your career path and
purpose. It’s a great practice to ask yourself the
big questions. Download these printable self-
discovery questions and keep them in your
planner or hang them up in your home o!ce for
inspiration.

Sources:

Happier Human, “51 Self-Discovery Questions to

Ask Yourself While Journaling,” Nov. 13, 2019:
www.happierhuman.com/self-discovery-
questions/.
Laurel Halloran, “The Value of Self-Re"ection,” The
Journal for Nurse Practitioners, Volume 12, Issue
10, e437–438:
https://www.npjournal.org/article/S1555-
4155(16)30504-9/abstract.

Giselle Kovary, “The Value of Self-Re"ection,” N-

Gen, Dec. 17, 2015:
www.ngenperformance.com/blog/leadership-
2/the-value-of-self-re"ection.

Anna Sutton et al., “A Longitudinal, Mixed Method

Evaluation of Self-Awareness Training in the
Workplace,” European Journal of Training and
Development, Aug. 3, 2015:
www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/EJ
TD-04-2015-0031/full/html?journalCode=ejtd.

Clive Fletcher and Caroline Bailey, “Assessing Self‐

Awareness: Some Issues and Methods,” Journal of
Managerial Psychology, Aug. 1, 2003,
www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/0
2683940310484008/full/html.

D. Scott Ridley et al., “Self-Regulated Learning:

The Interactive In"uence of Metacognitive
Awareness and Goal-Setting,” The Journal of
Experimental Education, July 1, 1992:
www.jstor.org/stable/20152338?seq=1.

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