We are in a season where all the rules of our lives have changed.
This is a time of both great uncertainty and great opportunity. When you can no longer define yourself by your work, your achievements, or affirmation–or when you are tired of living your life defined by circumstances and relationships you can’t control–it’s an opportunity for another way.
In this 10 minute touchpoint, we talk about the practice of daily self-examen as a way to set your intentions and actions toward the person you want to become.
Below is a list of 22 questions John Wesley, the founder of the Methodism movement, used to make his faith practical and measurable each day. Here’s how I recommend using self-examen questions:
1. Use the questions below to spark thoughts about 1-3 behaviors or patterns you want to address.
2. Choose 1-5 questions that measure those values, either from the list below or that you write for yourself.
3. Post the questions in a place where you can engage every day. I keep my questions in the back of my bible. Another option are post-it notes on your bathroom mirror next to where you brush your teeth.
4. Be gentle with yourself. These questions are designed to shape your intentions and create a sensitivity in your spirit toward the person you want to become. By raising your awareness about what you value, you will be able to shape your thoughts and actions accordingly. But change takes time–and small, focused options are better than overwhelming yourself with everything you wish was different all at once.
5. What questions would you add to this list? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!
John Wesley’s Daily Self-Examen
- Am I consciously or unconsciously creating the impression that I am better than I really am? In other words, am I a hypocrite?
- Do I confidentially pass on to others what has been said to me in confidence?
- Can I be trusted?
- Am I a slave to dress, friends, work or habits?
- Am I self-conscious, self-pitying, or self-justifying?
- Did the Bible live in me today?
- Do I give the Bible time to speak to me every day?
- Am I enjoying prayer?
- When did I last speak to someone else of my faith?
- Do I pray about the money I spend?
- Do I get to bed on time and get up on time?
- Do I disobey God in anything?
- Do I insist upon doing something about which my conscience is uneasy?
- Am I defeated in any part of my life?
- Am I jealous, impure, critical, irritable, touchy or distrustful?
- How do I spend my spare time?
- Am I proud?
- Do I thank God that I am not as other people, especially as the Pharisees who despised the publican?
- Is there anyone whom I fear, dislike, disown, criticize, hold a resentment toward or disregard? If so, what am I doing about it?
- Do I grumble or complain constantly?
- Is Christ real to me?
