One of the best ways to understand yourself and the world around you is to ask questions that shine a light on how we live our lives and help awaken our full potential. People who ask themselves questions like the following are better able to have control over their lives and a greater focus on how to become the person they want to be.

When you question yourself you create a conscious awareness of where you are, where you have been, and where you want to go. Here are 20 questions to ask yourself that can maybe help you understand yourself better.

1. If you dropped everything to pursue your dreams, what would you be risking?

2. If you could send a message to the entire world, what would you say in 30 seconds?

3. What would you do differently if you knew that no one was judging you?

4. When it’s all said and done, will you have said more than you have done?

5. What were you doing when you last lost track of the time?

6. If you could watch everything that happened in your life until now, would you enjoy it?

7. If you could start over, would you change anything? What would you do differently?

8. What is the difference between living and existing?

9. Do you ask enough questions, or are you happily settling for what you know already?

10. What can you do today that you couldn’t do a year ago? What will you be able to do at this time next year?

11. What have you done to pursue your dreams lately? How about today?

12. When did you not speak up, when you know you really should have?

13. Would you rather have 10 years of excellent health, or 30 years of average health?

14. Is being open-minded a virtue, if it’s causing destructive ideas to spread throughout society?

15. When did you last push the boundaries of your comfort zone?

16. What have you given up on?

17. Who are you really? Describe yourself without using your name, or any attributes given to you by society and really think. Deep down, who are you?

18. If you didn't know how old you were, how old do you think you would be?

19. What would happen if you never wasted another minute of your life, what would that look like?

20. How many of your friends would your trust with your life?

The power of questions is not in the answers, but the understanding those answers bring.