In last week’s blog, I discussed that the most important way to improve the quality of your life is to ask the right questions. Today I will discuss the two most important questions that you can ask. Before I get to this, I want to discuss a very important issue right now, which is that of angst.
Angst refers to a combination of anxiety, anguish and lack of direction. Are you feeling this right now? I know a lot of people are in the turbulent times that we live in with everything that is going on globally, the pandemic, racial injustice, political uncertainty and climate change. When you are in the midst of this, all can feel lost. However, there is a remedy to angst.
What is the remedy? It is to ask the right questions. In order to overcome your angst and get on the right path in your life you must ask the following questions: Who am I? Why am I here? You see, a lot of people are overwhelmed and burned out because they are stuck in situations which suck the life out of them.
These situations could be jobs they hate, relationships that don’t serve them or a chronic health condition which they suffer with. I can tell you, from my personal experience, that most of these issues occur as a result of not asking those two questions. The reason that people don’t ask themselves these questions because they have not been taught to do this.
You see, our education system is outdated from a post-World War II generation, which needed to create followers to man all the factories that were churning out consumer goods when military equipment was no longer needed. This education system does not care about the individual or his or her needs but simply cares about the needs of society.
If the education system truly served children, the questions above would be the first thing they would be taught and their whole life would be dedicated to answering those questions and living in harmony with them. However, all hope is not lost. You can start right now by journaling on the questions of ‘Who am I?’ and ‘Why am I here?’
Now, if you ask these questions, you will naturally generate a third question: What a I going to do about this? You see, you can answer those questions and choose to remain stuck in your current paradigm. This will only serve to increase your angst and it would be better if you never asked yourself these questions to begin with.
Therefore, if you are suffering with burnout, overwhelm and angst then start journaling on these questions and see what you come up with. I’m not asking you to quit your job, leave your marriage or relocate to the other side of the world. I’m simply asking you to undergo a process of deep inquiry, which has the potential to transform you and, exponentially, increase the quality of your life.
Do not waste your life and miss this precious opportunity that the gift of being born has given us.
Dr. Nauman Naeem