quanhieu/40-questions

Questions that I ask myself at the end of each year and each decade.

Why this repo exists

• In October 2016 I published a list of 40 questions that I ask myself at the end of each year. See blog post
• In January 2020 I added a list of 40 questions to ask every 10 years. See blog post
• This repo maintains revisions to the list of questions

Submitting translations

If you'd like to translate the questions into another language, you can submit your translation via pull request. Place the translated files into a folder named using ISO 639-1 two letter language code. See examples in /translations.

40 questions to ask yourself each year

One of my rituals at the end the year is asking myself these forty questions. This list is modified from a set of questions posted by coppermoss on Metafilter.

It usually takes me about a week to work my way through all of them. I find it to be one of the most valuable exercises to reflect on what happened, good and bad, and how I hope the year ahead will shape up.

What is more interesting than each individual answer are the trends that emerge after years of answering the same questions. I’ve shared this list with my family and closest friends, and always enjoy discussing answers as we reflect on the year.

Feel free to add or remove questions, and share your edits with me. This is first and foremost a personal exercise, so make it a tradition you can enjoy for years to come.

40 questions to ask yourself each decade

As we enter a new decade, I've been pondering what the 2020s will hold for us. I remembered that some time ago I had answered Proust's famous questionnaire, and thought I would try answering it again. While the yearly questions help me reflect on what happened, Proust's questions are more about personal philosophies and traits, and thus change less frequently over time.

Going through my answers to the Proust questionnaire, I was inspired to work on a new questionnaire that I could use for the next few decades. I tried create a set of questions that I would enjoy reflecting on in 2030. This list combines questions from Proust's questionnaire, and others I've been collecting ad hoc.

It will be ten years before I can tell you whether this worked well or not, but join me on this journey if you'd like! Again, consider editing this list with questions you would like to know your own answers to in ten years.