Several decades have been spent by people wondering a lot of things, asking questions that make you think about your existence, and striving to get their answers by the Creator, or through observations, and thought-provoking meditation sessions.
The world evolved slowly and gradually, starting with something as small as the invention of fire, to the first man landing on the moon (and not Mars). Despite these tremendous achievements, each one of us still fails to understand the reason of our existence, giving us an existential crisis.
Understanding life is not in our thoughts compared to the first ever thinkers of civilized consciousness. Where did it all begin? Why are we even alive? Is there anything I am benefiting from on this planet? Am I supposed to give something back to humanity?
Such questions can be compared to a lot of stories from the past.
Just like the fictional “Wizard of Oz” journey, of a girl looking for a Wizard in order to get back home, later to realize that the world she had been living in, was a manifestation of her thoughts the entire time.
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Basically realizing what her existence in life was meant to be; there was a purpose to her life.
The deeper we let our thoughts go, we realize the fact that our existence does not only revolve around our daily living but goes deeper than that. It involves our own selves. And there is an answer to everyone’s soul searching effort.
Exploring such questions, make you think about your existence. They give rise to a concept that has constantly been attacked over the last several years by most philosophers and psychologists: the idea of existing.
Do we really exist? In the form of a real entity of our own self, or is it just a mental space in our minds.
Pondering over questions that makes us think about our existence, we all do that! Don’t we? Obviously if you are reading this post right now, you have definitely given it a thought.
Several questions intrigue our minds as to why we exist, and a few of the deep questions to ask are stated below.
Questions That Make You Think About Your Existence
A lot of us do not go on thinking about these questions that make you think about your existence every other day, we just carry on with our daily lives simply existing, doing our daily duties. But there will be some time in our lives when we will have a lot of deep questions in our heads, wanting to clear out. It happens when the core meaning of our lives is stripped away, due to some tragedies, atrocious disasters, losing our loved one or family, making us question our existence and confronting the destroyer.
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For instance, if you are a dentist and your duty is to serve those who suffer from a tooth ache, but at some point in life you are unable to do that. It will put you you in an existential crisis.
Why so? You are simply not skilled enough, or experienced enough to tackle the complicated situation. Or some colleague of yours is an expert in that, having the same background of knowledge makes you feel even worse.
You question your existence because you can’t do something everyone else can!
Consider a love affair! You are deeply inclined towards the person you love, seeking to start a family with your significant other. But later you discover that he or she had no sincere feelings for you.
That feeling of hopelessness would crush you from the inside, making you want to question life over and over, asking the Creator why you had to go through such a tragic betrayal. The same thing happens with those who define themselves and look for their deepest meanings in others, just like a parent would find their world in their child, only to see them set apart, move on with their lives in future.
Does life have a meaning? What is the essence of life?
Surely every individual has thought of this question in their lives. Mostly because they probably failed to understand the true meaning of their existence, which is not just going to work, eat and sleep. It has a meaning of its own, which would make you love your existence once you would realize it.
What is my identity? Who am I?
Who even am I? Somebody’s favorite eldest child, whose parents hope to be supported by financially one day? Or someone’s middle child who has no worth in the family, because his or her parents are too busy taking care of the youngest and polishing the eldest. Or are you that one lover who still has not been able to ask out that one girl he has had a crush on since kindergarten. Well, whether good or bad, your identity is what defines you and makes you who you are.
Am I serving the purpose of life? What is my purpose?
The main purpose of your life is to live and let live, spreading peace and happiness, no matter what comes your way. In short, if your life is miserable, don’t try to make it worse for others as well. Achieving that means you have served the purpose of your life.
What is death? Do I deserve the everlasting bliss of the afterlife?
Those who do not believe in the creation of the Lord might question life after death at several points, including death. Despite seeing their acquaintances, loved ones, and family lose their lives right in front of them. For them the world is everything. Maybe their everlasting bliss! While for some, the world is their hell, which makes them eagerly wait for the heaven they would get to live in after death.
How do I choose between the good and the bad?
At times when everything seems true, you don’t know whether you are making the right decision or going against it. In such situations, it haunts the individual till he is sure about the fact that his decisions would be in favor of the good and not the bad. Knowing that he was right, gives him a peace of mind about life.
Existential crisis give rise to deep conversations and while many of those questions do not have answers, they are simply just your thoughts and feelings put into words.
List of Facts & Thought Provoking Questions that Make You Think About Your Existence
Here is a list of some other facts that make you ask deep questions and ponder over your existence:
- The day and night has been one of the few constant things on earth since the world began
- Our time is connected with the distance and the speed the earth revolves around the sun. How do we measure relevance to time on other planets? What about beyond our solar system?
- When we look up at the stars, are we really looking up, or are we facing an unknown direction in context of where we are in the universe? Our direction is relative to this earth.
- The “Space” is unfathomably large. It’s beyond our comprehension.
- The concept of God: He exists from an infite period, and will exist for an infinite period. Can you wrap your head around that?
- When kids start being born on other planets in the future, we’d have to add “Planet of Birth” to our identity documents as well
- At one point in time you were among the youngest of all beings on this world – that moment could have been lasted for a thousandth of a second
- We’re all in a queue to die. There will be a moment when it’s our turn, and and we might be busy in worldy affairs
- Humans from this earth, are technically considered “aliens” on the moon and Mars (or on other planets in the future)
- Imagine the impact of the choices a person’s makes. Every choice adds to the matrix of decision tree that that person has gone through in life. Now imagine the billions of people on this world, and how the decision matrix of one person coincides with everyone he or she cross or does not cross paths with. It’s mind boggling.
- When you’re watching a sunrise, someone on the other end of the world is enjoying a sun set
- If you keep digging a hold in your backyard, and never stop, one day you might reach the other end of the world in a different country.
- You have never been in the same physical place more than once, as the earth, solar system and our galaxy is constantly moving
135 More Deep Questions that Make You Think About Your Existence
| S. No. | Questions that Make You Think About Your Existence |
| 1 | Are you holding onto something that you need to let go of? What’s stopping you? |
| 2 | Can we have happiness without sadness? |
| 3 | Could you be persuaded to kill someone? If you answer no, how much money would it take to change your mind?” |
| 4 | Describe the greatest adventure of your life |
| 5 | Describe the next five years of your life, and your plans, in a single sentence |
| 6 | Do aliens exist? |
| 7 | Do we have a soul? |
| 8 | Do you ask enough questions, or are you happily settling for what you know already? |
| 9 | Do you consider yourself the hero or the villain in your story? |
| 10 | Do you make your own decisions, or let others make them for you? |
| 11 | Does nature shape our personalities more than nurture? |
| 12 | Does observation alter an event? |
| 13 | Does sound happen if nothing is present to hear it? |
| 14 | Does the Law of Attraction exist? |
| 15 | Does this person know how much they mean to you? When was the last time you told them? |
| 16 | How can people believe in truths without evidence? |
| 17 | How did the universe begin? |
| 18 | How do you apply the learning from this regret to your actions today? |
| 19 | How do you celebrate the things you do have in your life? |
| 20 | How do you know that your experience of consciousness is the same as other people’s experience of consciousness? |
| 21 | How do you spend the majority of your free time? Why? |
| 22 | How does gravity work? |
| 23 | How many people do you truly love? What are you doing for them? |
| 24 | How much control do you really have over yourself? |
| 25 | How should people live their lives? |
| 26 | How would you describe yourself in 5 words? |
| 27 | If everything evolved from amoebas, how does the world still have amoebas? |
| 28 | If karma was coming back to you, would it help or hurt you? |
| 29 | If lying is wrong, are white lies okay? |
| 30 | If money cannot buy happiness, can you ever be truly happy with no money? |
| 31 | If today was the last day of your life, what would you want to do? |
| 32 | If you could ask a single person one question, and they had to answer truthfully, who and what would you ask? |
| 33 | If you could ask for one wish, what would it be? |
| 34 | If you could choose just one thing to change about the world, what would it be? |
| 35 | If you could go back in time, once, and change a single thing – what would it be? |
| 36 | If you could send a message to the entire world, what would you say in 30 seconds? |
| 37 | If you could start over, what would you do differently? |
| 38 | If you could watch everything that happened in your life until now, would you enjoy it? |
| 39 | If you dropped everything to pursue your dreams, what would you be risking? |
| 40 | If you had a friend that you spoke to the same way you speak to yourself, how long do you think that person would allow you to be your friend? |
| 41 | If you had a year left to live, what would you achieve over the next 12 months? |
| 42 | If you had to teach someone one thing, what would you teach? |
| 43 | If you lost everything tomorrow, whose arms would you run into to make everything ok? |
| 44 | If you received enough money to never need to work again, what would you spend your time doing? |
| 45 | If you spend a day watching movies when you should be working a day wasted or well spent? |
| 46 | If your entire life was a movie, what title would best fit? |
| 47 | Is a “wrong” act okay if nobody ever knows about it? |
| 48 | Is a family still relevant in the modern world? |
| 49 | Is being open-minded a virtue, if it’s causing destructive ideas to spread throughout society? |
| 50 | Is it better to love and lose or never to love? |
| 51 | Is it easier to love or be loved? |
| 52 | Is it more important to be liked or respected? |
| 53 | Is it worse to fail at something or never attempt it in the first place? |
| 54 | Is life all a dream? |
| 55 | Is mind or matter more real? |
| 56 | Is there a supreme power? |
| 57 | Is trust more important than love? |
| 58 | Isn’t one person’s terrorist another person’s freedom fighter? |
| 59 | Should people care more about doing the right thing, or doing things right? |
| 60 | Standing at the gates of heaven, and God asks you “Why should I let you in?” What do you reply? |
| 61 | The structure of DNA appears to be intelligently designed, what are the implications? |
| 62 | There a reason to life? |
| 63 | To what extent do you shape your own destiny, and how much is down to fate? |
| 64 | What are numbers? |
| 65 | What are the chances you’ve passed up on that you regret? |
| 66 | What are the things that stand between you and complete happiness? |
| 67 | What are you looking forward to? |
| 68 | What can you do today that you couldn’t do a year ago? What will you be able to do at this time next year? |
| 69 | What defines you? |
| 70 | What did you want to be when you were a kid? |
| 71 | What did your life teach you yesterday? |
| 72 | What do people strive for after enlightenment? |
| 73 | What do you “owe” yourself? |
| 74 | What do you really love to do? Do you do it often? If you answer no, why not? |
| 75 | What do you want most out of life? |
| 76 | What drives you to do better at something? |
| 77 | What gets you excited and driven to achieve? |
| 78 | What happens after we die? |
| 79 | What have you done that you’re most proud to have achieved? |
| 80 | What have you done to pursue your dreams lately? How about today? |
| 81 | What have you done today to make someone’s life better? |
| 82 | What have you given up on? |
| 83 | What is beauty? |
| 84 | What is education? |
| 85 | What is freedom? |
| 86 | What is honor, and does it even matter anymore? |
| 87 | What is infinity? |
| 88 | What is intelligence? |
| 89 | What is reality? |
| 90 | What is the difference between living and existing? |
| 91 | What is the last thing that you’ve done that’s really worth remembering? |
| 92 | What is the truth? |
| 93 | What is time? |
| 94 | What is true happiness? |
| 95 | What is true love? |
| 96 | What is true strength? |
| 97 | What is your greatest strength? |
| 98 | What is your greatest weakness? |
| 99 | What makes a good friend? |
| 100 | What makes you smile? |
| 101 | What makes you special? |
| 102 | What makes you, you? |
| 103 | What one piece of advice would you offer to a newborn infant? |
| 104 | What role does honour play in today’s society? |
| 105 | What terrifies you the most? |
| 106 | What things hold you back from doing the things that you really want to? |
| 107 | What were you doing when you last lost track of the time? |
| 108 | What will happen at the end of the world? |
| 109 | What will people say at your funeral? |
| 110 | What would happen if you never wasted another minute of your life, what would that look like? |
| 111 | What would you change about your life if you knew you would never die? |
| 112 | What would you do differently if you knew that no one was judging you? |
| 113 | When did you last push the boundaries of your comfort zone? |
| 114 | When did you not speak up, when you know you really should have? |
| 115 | When does consciousness begin? |
| 116 | When it’s all said and done, will you have said more than you have done? |
| 117 | When was the last time you travelled somewhere new? |
| 118 | When was the last time you tried something new? |
| 119 | When you think of your home, what immediately comes to mind? |
| 120 | When you’re 90 years old, what will matter most to you in the world? |
| 121 | Where do thoughts come from? |
| 122 | Where does the soul live? |
| 123 | Where does the universe end? |
| 124 | Where is the line between insanity and creativity? |
| 125 | Where were people before they were born? |
| 126 | Where would you like to live? Why haven’t you moved? |
| 127 | Who are you really? Describe yourself without using your name, or any attributes given to you by society and really think. Deep down, who are you? |
| 128 | Who decides what morality is? |
| 129 | Who defines good and evil? |
| 130 | Whose life have you had the greatest impact on? |
| 131 | Why do people fear losing things that they do not even have yet? |
| 132 | Would you be a martyr and risk your reputation by standing up for what is right in front of your peers? Or is it better to be pragmatic and do nothing? |
| 133 | Would you break the law to save a loved one? |
| 134 | Would you rather have 10 years of excellent health, or 30 years of average health? |
| 135 | Would your life be better or worse, if you knew the time and place where you would die? |
