Five Powerful Reflective Questions I’m Asking Every Morning

I’m a high variety person. I like change. But there are certain things that I rely on routine. My morning is the biggest area of routine throughout my entire day.

But even in my routine I enjoy some change or simple tweaks. For example, I absolutely love to read and do almost every single morning. Routine. But I also enjoy starting a brand new book. Variety.

I also write almost every single morning. Routine. Starting a new topic or project. Variety.

 

Then there is journaling. Routine. I’ve always seen the value in journaling but struggled with the consistency. The reason? Little to no variety.

I always enjoyed going through past days and remembering where I was at in my life in that exact moment. But there were gaps. Until now. I made two specific changes:

First, I started using an app called Day One Journal and I absolutely love it. I always felt I needed to handwrite my journal entries and I just struggled doing it. I rarely miss a day using this app.

Second, I changed the format of journaling. I now ask five specific questions that are powerful and reflective to me. I’m not a “I did this then I did that” kind of journaler and it showed in my inconsistency. But these five questions mean something to me due to the answers. They motivate and challenge me.

 

Here are Five Powerful Reflective Questions I’m Asking Every Morning

 

1. What Am I Grateful For This Morning?

I desire to be a person who is truly grateful. Not just when things are going good and my way but grateful in all circumstances. I want to be able to see the good in the bad.

So when I focus on what I’m grateful for, I see the good in so many ways.

It also sets the tone for my day because my focus is on what I have (the positive) not on what I don’t (the negative) and my attitude if changed.

Tip – learn to go beyond the surface and really reflect on your life and those around you. Journaling asking these questions will bring more ideas of gratefulness.

 

2. What Exactly Do I Want to Accomplish Today?

This question for me is not my to do list. It’s when I look back at the end of the day, what will give me a sense of accomplishment.

Kent Julian in his Goal Getting video course, challenges you to focus your energy on the 20% of your activities that produce 80% of the results. As he says, “If 80% of your results come from 20% activities, give 80% focus and energy to 20% activities.”

This exercise focuses on major 3-5 things that are going to produce 80% of the results I want to accomplish today. Oh, there are a ton more but these are the ones that move the needle in key areas of my life.

 

3. What Do I Look Forward to Today?

I learned this question from Donald Miller, creator of StoryBrand for business and StoryLine for personal. Answering this question allows me to think forward and anticipate something good that will happen in my day.

It may be something simple or it may be something I’ve looked forward to for awhile.

This especially helps me on days that are challenging, not my preferred focus of work, or a long day of business travel.

When I focus on what I look forward to, it gives me hope and energy to persevere to experience those areas.

 

4. What Reflections Came From Yesterday?

This is the self-reflection part of the program and the easiest question to ignore because if forces me to think backwards.

What stood out about yesterday? What were the key events, conversations, and moments that are worth remembering.

If I answer this question with honesty and a desire to personally improve, I can choose to repeat the good and make the necessary changes.

Possible categories: nutrition / fitness / productivity / relationships / personal development

 

5. What Did I Learn Yesterday?

 

This may be the hardest of the five questions. It’s SO easy just to fly through life with one day blurring into the next day. But this question forces me to think through what did I actually learn then put it in writing.

It may be something I read. It might have come from a conversation. Or it may have appeared through a life lesson.

These are nuggets I want to capture to continue my desire to personally improve and grow.

This question makes me pause and really think about what did I actually learn from the previous day and it a great way to end the five questions.

 

Closing Challenge…

Journaling may be a foreign concept for you and feels more like a diary. Not in this case.

My hope is you see the value in taking a few minutes each morning to reflect on your life. You may prefer using a pen and paper of which I did for a time. There are also great journals available such as the Five Minute Journal.

The important takeaway is choosing to do something. You choose the means (pen and paper or an app) and you can choose the questions. You’re welcome to use my five questions until you find what questions resonate with you.

I challenge you to take action in this area and find powerful, reflective questions to answer each morning and see where this time takes you in your personal development…