Guided exercise · 13 min
The 3 Most Important Questions
Find out what you actually want from life, and write it down in under five minutes.
With
Rated4.8
- Level
- Beginner friendly
- Style
- Guided exercise
- Sound
- Voice only
- Best time
- Morning or evening
About this session
- Clarifies your direction
- Sparks fresh ideas
- Quiets overthinking
- Reconnects you to purpose
This is a guided writing exercise led by Vishen Lakhiani. He explains the difference between means goals, like grades and job titles, and end goals, then gives you pen, paper and three 90-second timed rounds: experiences, growth and contribution. The timer keeps you writing before your logical mind can interfere.
It suits anyone whose goals feel borrowed from school, family or career expectations. Use it at a turning point, at the start of a new year or job, or on any morning, late afternoon or night when you want to check that your direction is truly yours. Keep a pen and paper beside you.
After the session
01
A clearer life vision
See what you truly want, beyond expectations.
02
A written list of desires
Leave with three lists you can revisit.
03
Freedom from borrowed goals
Tell apart what society wants and what you want.
04
A sense of purpose
Connect growth and giving to your daily life.
Who it’s for
Yes, if…
- Anyone who suspects they are chasing a goal they never chose
- People at a career crossroads or starting something new
- Those who overthink goal setting and want a quick, simple method
- Teams, partners or friends who want to understand what drives each other
Not now, if…
- Anyone looking for a relaxing, eyes-closed meditation
- People who don't want to write or can't have pen and paper nearby
- Those who want a step-by-step plan rather than open-ended brainstorming
About the teacher
Vishen Lakhiani
Founder & CEO of Mindvalley & two-time NYT best-selling author
Vishen Lakhiani is the founder and CEO of Mindvalley, the world's leading online personal growth education company. Growing up in Malaysia, he found school forgettable and barely graduated from the University of Michigan's Electrical and Computer Engineering program, which drove him to evolve education. Mindvalley is now home to hundreds of world-class teachers and its Quest learning system, with 5x higher completion rates than the average online course. He wrote New York Times bestsellers The Code of the Extraordinary Mind and The Buddha and the Badass, and his community spans 195 countries, with more than 15 million social media followers. Vishen aims to bring Mindvalley to 100 national schooling systems and every Fortune 500 company.
See all by Vishen LakhianiQuestions people ask
Still unsure? Ask your assistant anything about this session.
What is the difference between a means goal and an end goal?
Means goals are the steps society says lead to happiness: a good GPA, getting into a certain college or firm, a good work review. End goals are what those steps are meant to deliver, such as love, travel, happiness, contribution or learning a new skill. Vishen shares that he reached his goal of working at Microsoft, then was fired 11 weeks later, because he had mistaken a means for an end.
What are the three questions I will answer?
What do I want to experience before I kick the bucket? How do I want to grow? What do I want to contribute to the planet? Each gets its own 90-second round, and together they make up the three buckets that Vishen says all end goals fall into.
Why is there a 90-second timer?
The timer is there to shut down your logical mind so your creative right brain can let answers flow. Vishen says people over-complicate this, and all you need is a stopwatch, pen and paper. He also reminds you to keep writing, and calls out when five seconds are left.
What prompts will I hear during the experiences round?
You're asked to imagine that time and money are no obstacle. The prompts cover people who have done incredible things, health and fitness, love and relationships, family, friends, and places. Along the way you might think about the car you would drive, the home you would live in, and where and with whom you would spend your holidays.
What kind of things count as growth?
Vishen points to your intellectual life, such as books and skills to learn or languages to master. He also names character traits like leadership, honesty and confidence, emotional intelligence, and your spiritual life, including meditation, prayer and beliefs. Health goals count too, from a regular gym habit to running a marathon or climbing Kilimanjaro.
Does my contribution have to be something big?
No. It can be volunteer work, teaching kids at school, or creating art or writing. It can include family, friends, workplace, city or the wider world, and your career counts if the company does good or keeps many people employed. Vishen frames it as your legacy, which you can build with time, money, knowledge or love.