7 questions to ask yourself every night

The best of the best are committed to excellence every single day. They rise in the morning with intention, divide their day into deliberate, task-focused segments, and close each day with reflection. Wash, rinse, repeat. 

The reflection period is critical. It accelerates growth because it creates space for small adjustments in how you show up the next day. Reflection is an opportunity for feedback - the kind you don’t have to wait for because it arises from within. If you don’t take the time to assess your performance on a regular basis, then it’ll be difficult to course correct later. Imagine that you’re open water swimming (I see you, but put that anxiety to the side). There’s obviously no black line to follow like at the bottom of the pool, so every few strokes, you pop your head up to make sure you’re going in the right direction. Those crocodile eyes, just above the surface of the water, give you feedback. You’re then able to make little changes to make sure you end up where you’re intending to go. Without those periodic checks, who knows where you’d end up.

Here are a few questions to ask yourself at the end of each day:

What did I do well? 

Did I act in alignment with my values?

Am I moving toward my vision?

Where did I choose to focus my attention?

How did I handle challenges?

What did I allow to steal my energy? Did I steal anyone else’s energy?

What made me feel alive?

The order of these questions matters. We are programmed to have a negativity bias, meaning our brain gives more credence to those items we perceive as a threat and are more negative in nature. But, our brain also pays attention to the first and last items of a list. So, bookend your self-feedback with more positive leaning questions.

If you have to perform at a higher level on any given day, then tailor these questions accordingly. The more specific you can get, the more learnings you’ll extract.

Committing to growth every single day doesn’t require monumental shifts. It simply demands easily-accessible habits that you exercise on the daily.

Feel free to get creative with these questions and, over time, you’ll see how simply being aware of these questions can have an influence on your actions throughout the day.