Question master

I had been perusing the Internet to find a batch of questions to think about and answer (something I've done before here), but decided to turn the tables and pose questions of my own, devoid of answers. These are questions I try to frequently ask myself, and may be worth asking of yourself to gain insight into the inner workings of your mind. I said over three years ago that interactions with people are the driving force behind the revealing of our true character, and I believe that holds just as true through interactions with ourselves.

Think about a goal you have. Going to the gym every day this week. Getting a full eight hours of sleep. Spending ten minutes on the phone with someone you haven't spoken to in a while. As important as it is to have goals, it is equally important to ask ourselves how bad we want it. What are you willing to sacrifice to improve yourself? Are you willing to turn down another 45 minutes on Netflix in favor of a full night's sleep? Is going out with your friends worth skipping leg day? How bad do you want it?

When I'm playing with statistics and data, a large chunk of brain power is devoted to understanding the concept of what I am trying to analyze. What statistics I need, where I'm going to get them from, how to make them look neat and pretty...when we communicate with others across whatever medium suits us, what are the implications of what we speak about? It's not enough to ask if you should bunt with a runner on first and none out...if in fact you should, what does that mean for the game of baseball? (Editor's Note: You shouldn't bunt. Ever.) What are the implications of your work?

There are people out there who take this approach to the extreme, and are constantly asking themselves this one question. How is this important to my life? For those who search for life's meaning or purpose, who might never receive a conclusion, the canonical advice is to turn the question into something more achievable. Do you really want to be sitting around all day Saturday, slothing your life away? The more insight we have into our own lives, and the more foresight we have in whether or not something will be a crucial part of our life, the more in tune we will be with ourselves. Gauging importance of anything and everything you do is an excellent way to accomplish that.

So there you have it. Three questions. Nothing too spectacular, if nothing but a conversation starter with yourself. How bad do you want it? What does it mean? How important will this be? Ask yourself those questions, and come up with your own answers.