INSTRUCTIONS:

•    Grab a pen and paper to answer these questions. Be honest and write down whatever comes to mind, no matter how small or unimportant it might seem.
•    Aim to identify at least 2–3 challenges for each question.
•    If your challenge feels vague, ask yourself: What is truly at the root of this? What situations or habits contribute to this?
•    Wrap up by identifying recurring themes or patterns in your answers. Highlight the most pressing challenges that demand your attention.
•    Finally, list your Top 5 Challenges on a separate piece of paper. Feel free to add one or challenges if you believe they are prominent but not in the Top 5 list.  Reflect on how you can start addressing them. 

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Getting Started: Identify the Obstacles

1. What are the biggest challenges that come to mind right now?

2. What situations make you feel stuck or overwhelmed?

3. What recurring problems do you face in your daily life?

4. Which areas of your life feel the most disorganized or chaotic? (e.g., personal, career, relationships, health, finances).​

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External Factors: Challenges in Your Environment

1. What external factors (e.g., people, work demands, financial issues) are contributing to your struggles?

2. Are there habits or situations in your surroundings that make things harder for you?

3. What recurring conflicts or misunderstandings do you face in relationships?

4. What expectations from others feel difficult or impossible to meet?

 

 Times You Have Been at Your Best: What lies underneath your success?

1. What were your favorite subjects or classes at school? Why? What did you bring to the class?

2. When have you felt most energized? What were you doing?

3. What have you created and brought into the world? Consider from childhood to now, anything you're proud of…

4. Consider your various achievements (big & small): What personal traits would you give the credit to?

5. What would not be like it is, had you not been part of it? What value did you add?  eg. Volunteer, Work projects...

 

Internal Factors: Challenges Within Yourself

1. What beliefs or fears hold you back from making progress?

2. When do you feel most self-critical or doubtful? What triggers these feelings?

3. Are there habits or behaviors that you know are not serving you well?

4. What emotional responses (e.g., stress, anxiety, procrastination) get in your way?

5. What past experiences still feel like a roadblock in your life?

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Recurring Patterns: Finding Clues in the Past

1. What types of challenges seem to repeat themselves over and over in your life?

2. When was the last time you faced a challenge that felt similar to what you're experiencing now?

3. What choices or actions might be contributing to these recurring struggles?

4.  What past challenges did you overcome, and how did they differ from your current ones?

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Discovering Blind Spots: 

1. What are others telling you about areas where you need improvement?

2. Are there issues you avoid thinking about or addressing? Why?

3. What feedback or criticism have you received that felt difficult to accept but might hold some truth

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Digging Deeper: The Root of the Challenge

1. What do you admire most in others? Now, where do you already do this in your life?

2. If this challenge didn’t exist, how would your life look different?

3. What emotions do you feel when facing this challenge (e.g., fear, frustration, guilt)?

4. What strengths or resources do you feel are missing to overcome this?

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Reflection and Action: 

1.  What have I learned about my challenges from this exercise?
2.  Which challenges feel the most urgent to address?
3.  What steps can I take to start managing or resolving these challenges?