During my morning devotion I read this and i felt it will be beneficial to my friends here in Nairaland, therefore I decided to bring it in here for to read too.
QUESTIONS YOU SHOULD ASK YOURSELF (FROM www.ucb.co.uk)
Like any good parent, God wants His children to succeed. But to succeed in life, you must periodically ask yourself two questions: 1) Am I committed to personal growth? ‘Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding.’ Keep reading, keep learning, keep asking questions. A Chinese proverb says, ‘He who asks is a fool for five minutes; he who doesn’t ask remains a fool forever.’ Some of us are like the little girl who thought she’d exhausted the subject of mathematics once she learned her twelve-times tables. When her grandfather asked with a twinkle, ‘What’s 13 times 13?’ she scoffed, ‘Don’t be silly, Grandpa, there’s no such thing!’ Your hunger for wisdom and knowledge determines your future. In order to keep giving out, you must keep taking in. 2) Am I enjoying what I do? You’ll never fulfil your destiny doing something you despise. Passion lies at the core of true success and fulfilment; it’s the spark for your fuse. It energises you when those around you grow tired. It helps you come up with answers when others cease to have creative ideas and strengthens you when they drop out. It gives you courage to take risks while others crave security. When you lose your passion, two things happen: first, you fail to pursue excellence; second, you jeopardise your integrity, because you’re tempted to take shortcuts and compromise by settling for less than God intended. One leader says, ‘What generates passion in you is a clue to your destiny. What you love is often a clue to something you can achieve.’
Two more questions you should constantly ask yourself are: 1) Am I willing to serve others?You say you want to be a leader? Why? Until you answer that question with the right motives, God won’t promote you. Sometimes we just want to be in control. Other times we don’t want to pay the price for success. We just want the perks that come with it: a corner office, a higher salary, a respected title, and the admiration of others. Jesus said, ‘Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant.’ Leadership puts you in a position to take care of your own needs first—to set yourself up—before helping others. That’s always a temptation and it’s always wrong! You must genuinely care about people and help them to reach their potential. When you do that you’re honouring God and He will honour you. 2) Am I doing what I’m called to do? ‘We have different gifts, according to the grace given us’ (Romans 12:6 NIV). Samuel Johnson said, ‘Almost every man wastes part of his life in attempts to display qualities which he does not possess…and gain applause which he cannot keep.’ If you’re harbouring a mental image of the qualities talented people are supposed to have and you don’t possess, you’ll have a hard time finding your true strengths. Henry Ford remarked, ‘The question, ‘‘Who ought to be the boss?’’ is like asking, ‘‘Who ought to be the tenor in the quartet?’’ Obviously, the man who can sing tenor.’ To succeed in life, you must know what God gifted you to do.
Three more questions you should ask yourself are: 1) Am I making the most of today? ‘Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity’ (vv. 15-16 NIV). Only by focusing on what’s required of you today can you prepare for tomorrow. If you don’t do the right things today, tomorrow will be spent fixing today’s mistakes. You’ll never change your life until you change something you do daily. Only by asking yourself, ‘Am I making the most of today?’ will you be able to keep yourself on course, and make a course correction when you’re not. 2) Am I taking time to think? One of the wisest things you can do is take time to think. This is especially important if you’re action-oriented and goal-oriented. We like to feel we’re making progress, moving ahead and getting things done. But in order to do the right thing, in the right way, at the right time, you must take time to evaluate what you’re doing. Are you? 3) Is my life pleasing to God? Enoch is remembered by these words: ‘He…pleased God’ (Hebrews 11:5 NIV). What a testimony! Jesus said, ‘What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?’ (Mark 8:36 NKJV). Regardless of what you accomplish, your supreme goal should be to please God. And to do that, you must spend time with Him in prayer and reading the Scriptures. In prayer you talk to God and through the Scriptures He talks to you. That’s a winning combination that never fails!

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