There are a lot of factors that can affect our journey towards reaching our goals, whether they are personal or work-related. While it is easy to lose track of our own objectives with so many distractions present, it is not entirely a bad thing to suddenly find yourself walking an entirely different path far from where you should be. Simple reminders from time to time are enough to lead you back and continue working on your goals.

One way of keeping yourself in check is to ask yourself powerful questions. Powerful questions are questions that move you to think beyond what is obvious. These are questions that require you to self-evaluate and are typically impactful enough for you to be honest with yourself. This is so that you can pinpoint your progress and define where you are with your goals. 

And now, to help you focus on what matters most, here is a list of powerful coaching questions that you can ask yourself according to the relationships and goals you want to develop.

1. What are the things that motivated me today?

Motivation is our key driving force to get through most of our tasks. And that is why it is important to take note of the things that had us going for the day. Even something as simple as a cup of coffee or good news can be counted as our motivators. By knowing these things, it is possible for us to develop good habits and a healthy routine. It can condition our mind to think positively, which in turn would make us feel motivated especially on days when we feel lethargic.

2. What are recent mistakes and how can I learn from them?

Things might not go as smoothly as you initially planned, but do not let this discourage you or demotivate you! Instead, view the mistakes that you made as a learning experience. Reflect and ask yourself what you learned from them and how you can avoid repeating these mistakes in the future. Dwell on it in a way that you can improve yourself further by learning from these mistakes.

3. What am I thankful for today?

At the end of each day, ask yourself, what are the things that you are thankful for? Similar to how it is important to know your motivators, the things that you are thankful for can be a simple cup of coffee or spending some time with friends. It can also be the smooth traffic on the way to work or the clear skies that promised good weather throughout the whole day. By thinking about the things that you are grateful for, you are reminded of the things that truly matter. In effect, it diverts your focus from negative clouds of thoughts that could demotivate you and affect your overall performance. 

4. Do people listen to you in the workplace?

Knowing that people value what you have to say especially in an environment, can affect how you work. Remember that everyone has the right to pitch in their ideas, voice out their concerns, and give their opinions on a subject matter that concerns everyone. There could be different factors as to why people refuse to listen. And it would be hard to determine unless you reflect on yourself and your relationships with your coworkers. 

5. Do you have a close work friend?

Being 100% committed to your career is never a fault. But in order to keep a healthy work and life balance, developing relationships such as friendships between your peers is important. Having at least a person you can confidently confide with work and personal matters in the workplace helps relieve work stress. And having someone you know who will come to your aid when you encounter problems in the office, will help you work with confidence.

6. Are you equipped with the necessary tools?

In order for you to be able to work properly and efficiently, you need access to the right tools and resources. If you’re underperforming, it could also be due to the lack of essential items that you need to perform better. At the same time, you should also take time to ask these powerful questions to your teammates, especially people who are working under your leadership. This is usually a simple thing that is so easy to look past at. However, it is one of the important factors that could determine you and your team’s overall work performance. 

7. Do you know what is expected of you at work?

It’s very easy to lose track of our goals when you have no idea of what is expected of you. If you’ve been going on in circles, doing the same things every day, then it might be because the goals and objectives weren’t clear or weren’t communicated properly to the team. Additionally, it would be helpful to also set Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) to keep everyone in check. 

This is exactly why it is important to ask this question from time to time as a reminder to everyone. Whether it is someone’s effective communication skills as a telemarketer or someone’s innovative ideas as a creative, being aware of what is expected of you will help you contribute more meaningful and worthwhile work. 

8. Where do you see yourself in 3 to 5 years?

If you don’t know where you are right now in your life, that’s okay but that doesn’t mean you should settle. Asking yourself where you want to see yourself in the future will help give you more direction and purpose. Getting confronted with this question could be uncomfortable for some people. However, you really need this to be able to truly think about what it is really that you want to do for yourself. 

Where do you picture yourself in 3 years? How about in 5 or 10 years from now? Maybe you’d like to see yourself getting a promotion, finally getting that corner office, or perhaps, starting your own business. And the thing is you can be as descriptive as you want it to be. For the most part, it will help you put things into perspective and align your actions towards achieving those goals. 

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Finally, know that sometimes plans change and that’s okay. You don’t need to stick through it if it no longer makes you happy. The point of asking these powerful questions is only to serve as your guide in reaching your long-term goals. The end result should always be to push you towards self-satisfaction and happiness. And frequently asking these questions might seem unimportant to other people but you would be surprised at how these can work wonders. By being reminded of our true purpose and by keeping ourselves in check, we can develop healthy working habits to improve ourselves and ultimately, our capability to lead others.