# The Simplest Question

By Randall Degges · September 27, 2012 · https://rdegges.com/2012/the-simplest-question/

> The most useful personal development lesson I've learned is one daily question: is what I'm about to do taking me closer to my goals, or further away?

![Samurai in Hat Sketch][]


Improvement is something nearly everyone craves--you want to be better at your
job, better at your relationships, better with your physical fitness--the lists
goes on endlessly.

Regardless of what you're trying to improve, there are likely thousands of
websites, books, and bits of advice available to you that will help you to
analyze your desires, organize them in a healthy way, and slowly make progress
towards one (or more) of these goals.  Over time, with enough consistency,
you'll improve in the areas you want to improve in, and feel better about it
along the way.

Despite the plethora of readily available information, I can't help but think
of my own experiences with personal development over the past few years.  I've
spent hundreds of hours reading books, writing, and working to improve myself,
but the most important lesson I learned along the way was to ask myself a
simple question every day:

"Is what I'm about to do taking me closer to my goals, or further away?"

No matter how many things I've got on my TODO list, no matter how much pressure
I'm under, and no matter how crappy I'm feeling at the time--asking myself that
simple question has without a doubt been the most effective way I've been able
to keep moving forward.

It is so easy to sabotage yourself and your desires.  When you're tired,
frustrated, pressured, irritated, or generally feeling less-than-perfect, you
tend to make mistakes.  You'll eat that extra cheeseburger, skip that last
important email, and slowly move yourself further away from your goals.

The next time you make a decision to do something, ask yourself that simple
question, and keep yourself honest.


[Samurai in Hat Sketch]: samurai-in-hat-sketch.png "Samurai in Hat Sketch"