50 Questions That Will Free Your Mind

From http://www.marcandangel.com/2009/07/13/50-questions-that-will-free-your-mind/

1. How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are?
Honestly probably 27. I think I’ve been a young adult for a long time.
I think my peers are finally catching up to me.

2. Which is worse, failing or never trying?
Never trying.

3. If life is so short, why do we do so many things we don’t like and
like so many things we don’t do?
Because a lot of things we like cost money and we have to have a way
to support ourselves and then have money left over to buy what we
like.

4. When it’s all said and done, will you have said more than you have done?
Done more than I said.

5. What is the one thing you’d like most to change about the world?
More empathy and willingness to help your own family members.

6. If happiness was the national currency, what kind of work would
make you rich?
Problem solving or manipulating data by writing programs or macros.

7. Are you doing what you believe in, or are you settling for what you
are doing?
I am not settling. I have a good job that I like. I truly believe the
people I work with are trying to do good things for the community.

8. If the average human life span was 40 years, how would you live
your life differently?
I probably would have married my college boyfriend, had several kids
by now, and there would be less money in my 401k.

9. To what degree have you actually controlled the course your life has taken?
I think control over my life is 50/50. Half of it is what’s thrown at
me and the other half is what I’ve done with those opportunities and
setbacks.

10. Are you more worried about doing things right or doing the right things?
Doing the right things.

11. You’re having lunch with three people you respect and admire. They
all start criticizing a close friend of yours, not knowing she is your
friend. The criticism is distasteful and unjustified. What do you do?
I would not reveal she was my friend. I’d offer a different view point
on the situation if I could to get the people to try to rethink their
opinion. I might not have lunch with them again.

12. If you could offer a newborn child only one piece of advice, what
would it be?
Live in the moment. Play while you can play. Nap while you can nap.
Learn while you can learn. Don’t be in a rush to grow up, have
responsibility, get debt and a job. You have the rest of your life for
that. But when it is time to grow up – then please grow up!

13. Would you break the law to save a loved one?
Yes.

14. Have you ever seen insanity where you later saw creativity?
I often think that about a construction site. It’s a complete dumb but
in the end it is usually amazing that people made it.

15. What’s something you know you do differently than most people?
Ha. I think I’ve seen fewer movies then most people have…

16. How come the things that make you happy don’t make everyone happy?
Different strengths and weaknesses. Most people will enjoy the things
that come easy to them.

17. What one thing have you not done that you really want to do?
What’s holding you back?
Stay thin and fit. My love of relaxing and eating.

18. Are you holding onto something you need to let go of?
I still have a lot of pent up anger and frustration over my last
boyfriend. It was the most frustration relationship I have ever had. I
think it’s hard for me to let go because he needed help and I won’t
ever know if he got the help he needed.

19. If you had to move to a state or country besides the one you
currently live in, where would you move and why?
I would move to New York to be with my family that I enjoy and miss so
much. Plus, I think it’s beautiful and I sleep much better when it’s
cold.

20. Do you push the elevator button more than once? Do you really
believe it makes the elevator go faster?
I do not push the elevator multiple times. I know it won’t make it go
faster and I’m never in a rush anyway.

21. Would you rather be a worried genius or a joyful simpleton?
Joyful simpleton – definitely.

22. Why are you, you?
Because of my awesome family and friends!

23. Have you been the kind of friend you want as a friend?
I think I am the kind of friend I want to have. Not everyone would
want to be friends with me though, and I do not want to be friends
with everyone. So it works out.

24. Which is worse, when a good friend moves away, or losing touch
with a good friend who lives right near you?
If they are truly your good friend a large amount of time should be
able to go by without seeing them and it shouldn’t make a difference.

25. What are you most grateful for?
My family. They are the best.

26. Would you rather lose all of your old memories or never be able to
make new ones?
I guess I’d rather be keep my old memories. Not making new ones is
basically the concept of death. I am ok with the idea of death. It’s
part of life. Not having past memories would be completely weird
though. I think it’s in peoples nature to want to know where they came
from.

27. Is it possible to know the truth without challenging it first?
I think so. I think I accept the truth quite often without challenging
it at all. If you are willing to trust the source of your information
is correct then you don’t have to challenge and it will also remain
the truth to you because if you don’t challenge it you’ll never be any
wiser.

28. Has your greatest fear ever come true?
No and I hope it never does.

29. Do you remember that time 5 years ago when you were extremely
upset? Does it really matter now?
It was more like 10 years ago and I do think it still matters now.
Although the people are not really in my life anymore, they are
poisonous people. They think they are these holy Christians but I
don’t think God would treat people the way they do. I don’t understand
why they think it’s their job to be in everyone’s business and judge
them like they are God.

30. What is your happiest childhood memory? What makes it so special?
I don’t think this is a fair question. I was fortunate to have tons of
happy memories. My family made them so special. We were just together
a lot and we just had fun.

31. At what time in your recent past have you felt most passionate and alive?
When I was training for my marathons, particularly when I did the 8 x
1 mile repeats with Stephanie and the 22 mile run I did with Amiee. I
was fit, felt great, it was a beautiful day, and I definitely had a
runners high. I loved it.

32. If not now, then when?
This questions and the next one both make me think of the same things.
I think the goals that have continued to elude me or come and go
sporadically are those related to fitness. I know what I need to do to
be fit and healthy. The problem for me is doing it. If not now, then
when? It really should be now. I need to convince myself of that.

33. If you haven’t achieved it yet, what do you have to lose?
The only thing I have to lose in this scenario is weight. Being fit is
something I love… but I also love cookies and cake and soda. 

34. Have you ever been with someone, said nothing, and walked away
feeling like you just had the best conversation ever?
Yes :D

35. Why do religions that support love cause so many wars?
Because love fosters passion which can make people go a little crazy
for what they believe.

36. Is it possible to know, without a doubt, what is good and what is evil?
No, evil is sneaky. Even those that think they have good intensions
could really be doing things only for themselves at the expense of
others and not realize it. Also all decisions have a ripple effect
that is impossible to predict and can have both good and bad impacts.

37. If you just won a million dollars, would you quit your job?
No. At least not right away. Unfortunately, a million dollars can be
burned pretty quickly. I might quit if and when I have children. In
the mean time I would keep working. I am fortunate to work with great
people. Most of the time the work is pretty interesting and I often
experience fulfillment from my assignments. I don’t think I would make
a very good housewife. I would also consider volunteering somewhere
instead if I was confident the million was enough.

38. Would you rather have less work to do, or more work you actually
enjoy doing?
More work I enjoy doing. I like being busy and working hard. It makes
the day go fast and it helps me appreciate and enjoy the time I have
at home more.

39. Do you feel like you’ve lived this day a hundred times before?
No. But if I think about it, essentially I have. A work day is very
similar to all other work days but I have never thought I’m doing the
same thing 100 times.

40. When was the last time you marched into the dark with only the
soft glow of an idea you strongly believed in?
Probably never. There is not a lot I strongly believe in.

41. If you knew that everyone you know was going to die tomorrow, who
would you go visit today?
I’d take Robert and go to Melbourne to see our families.

42. Would you be willing to reduce your life expectancy by 10 years to
become extremely attractive or famous?
Absolutely not. I’m neither and I think my life is much happier and
more stable than the extremely beautiful and famous people that I see.

43. What’s the difference between being alive and truly living?
Being alive is going through the motions every day. Truly living is
actually feeling what you touch, seeing what is in front of you,
listening to what is being said, tasting what you eat, and smelling
the air you breathe.

44. When is it time to stop calculating the risk and rewards, and just
go ahead and do what you know is right?
Um… Always? If you are not hurting others by your actions then go ahead.

45. If we learn from our mistakes, why are we always so afraid to make
a mistake?
I think we are afraid to make mistakes because of the consequences of
our mistakes. If you make a mistake a work you could lose your job –
that’s never fun. If we make a mistake in a social situation we might
be ridiculed and laughed at. Mistakes might cost of large amounts of
money. Mistakes are embarrassing. I think the only mistakes we
wouldn’t be afraid to make are mistakes others don’t know we made.

46. What would you do differently if you knew nobody would judge you?
I would dress much more casually all of the time. It is cheaper and
more comfortable to dress casual. I also love that you could be ready
at any moment to run around the office or climb over the cubical if
you wanted. I think our nice clothes are part of the recent people are
so sedentary. Even if we had the urge to run or jump we don’t because
we aren’t dressed for it.

47. When was the last time you noticed the sound of your own breathing?
I have noticed it a lot recently. Mostly because I’m sick and
congested so my breathing is somewhat labored and louder than usual.
Also, I recently saw my sister who has had a series of health problems
recently. She has gained a lot of weight and it seems to have made
breathing difficult for her. Even when she is just sitting there she
seems to be struggling for air. She has to flare her nostrils wide and
get a good loud slurp of air. It made me stop and listen to my
breathing. Mine is much quieter and slower frequency then hers.

48. What do you love? Have any of your recent actions openly expressed
this love?
I love my family and I love Robert who will hopefully be my family
soon. I think everyone who knows me knows I love my family. I also
think my family and Robert know I love them. I like to think I do a
good job of showing that I love them.

49. In 5 years from now, will you remember what you did yesterday?
What about the day before that? Or the day before that?
I probably will remember what I did yesterday – because I made this
101 in 1001 list. Even if I end up not finishing the list, I’ll
probably always remember that I made one. Several of these things I’ve
had on the To Do List in my brain for a while now so I won’t forget
those plans either. The day before and the day before were New Years
Day and New Years Eve. I’ll definitely remember these days because it
was my first new years with Robert. We spent it with his family
playing games and eating. We had a nice glass of champagne after we
watched the ball drop. In the morning we had breakfast with his family
before we headed to my parents. We played games there too (I destroyed
the family in 5 Second Rule) and we ate some gooey brownies. We
listened to the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo in the car and Bella was
happy to be home.

50. Decisions are being made right now. The question is: Are you
making them for yourself, or are you letting others make them for you?
At work, I like it when other people make the decisions. In most cases
they should because they are the project managers. I don’t really want
to make the decisions so I don’t really want to be a project manager.
My group leader says too bad though… so I guess it’s good. Someday at
work I’ll be forced to make the call. In my personal life though, I
think I make my own decisions all the time. I think I am were I am
today because of the decisions I have made over the years. There is
definitely some room for improvement. I make decisions but I often
make care for myself a lower priority. I’m hoping to work on that this
year.