Questions for the inner child
A thriving conversations guide for self-inquiry and deeper connection.
In the midst of a collective (almost) pause in the capitalist race, the holiday season graciously offers us a chance to assess our relationship to our own lives. It’s a time to kindle fresh conversations, creating space for new possibilities by addressing stagnant energy and relationships.
At the heart of this, deep listening emerges as a therapeutic practice, one that requires nothing more than the investment of time. While external demands often dictate the rhythm of our days, the power to choose how we spend our time remains firmly within our grasp.
In the gentle embrace of conversation with our inner child, where hopes, wishes, and hurts linger, profound wisdom unfolds. The act of pausing and truly listening may evoke a sense of vulnerability, particularly for those of us carrying wounds from feeling unheard or unseen. Yet, in the process of re-parenting ourselves, we begin to shed layers of hurt, demisting our vision of the person we are. It’s a tender act of self-love, allowing us to reimagine our narrative and step into the fullness of our connection to the world around us.
Inspired by one of our favourite games, We’re Not Really Strangers, here are 50 questions you can ask yourself or someone you love, so that the inner child knows that you are in fact listening.
FOR SOLO OR GROUP PLAY (EVERYONE ANSWERS)
When do you feel most enchanted or excited about being alive?
Which emotion do you struggle the hardest with allowing yourself to feel?
What emotion do you find most challenging to let others witness in you?
What’s one challenge you didn’t expect to overcome that ultimately strengthened your character?
What’s an embarrassing moment you need to stop beating yourself up about?
What question do you wish people would ask you more often?
What’s something you’d want future generations to remember about you?
How do you aim to make the people around you feel?
Is there anyone you need to thank right now?
Around whom do you feel most at peace within yourself?
What makes you feel the most emotionally secure?
What’s something you thought was a personality trait but turned out to be just a coping mechanism?
What change do you want to make but feel hesitant about?
What’s something unexpected that happened but you’re grateful for?
What’s one thing your inner child needs to hear right now?
What’s something beautiful that other people do in your opinion?
What’s something you could only learn the hard way?
What’s one hope for the future that you haven’t given up on yet?
What did you want to be when you “grew up”? How does that compare to where you are now?
What do you feel is the most valuable thing you offer to other people?
What’s the hardest thing for you to accept about yourself?
What’s your favorite thing to fall asleep to?
What is your ideal Sunday, from wake-up to bedtime?
If money were infinite, where would you go in the world and who would you take with you?
What’s one quality in someone else that you admire and are working on growing in yourself?
What’s something you were never taught but hope younger generations learn with greater ease?
What toxic relationship pattern have you found yourself stuck in before?
What do your favorite relationships bring out in you?
How can someone make you feel loved?
What’s a small act of kindness you have never forgotten?
What’s a trait of yours that you find it hard to make friends with?
What’s something in nature that made you smile recently?
Do you feel open to love at the moment? Explain.
When was the last time you felt self-doubt, and how did you overcome it?
If you could revisit one memory, what would it be?
What art has recently moved you?
What talent is waiting to be explored more by you?
Where are you and what are you doing when you feel the lightest weight in your mind?
What is the worst piece of advice you’ve been given?
If you could tell your 10-year-old self anything, what would it be?
Have you ever watched someone handle something with grace that you wish you had? Explain.
What’s something you find very hard to explain about yourself?
In this safe space, what is a truth you haven’t been able to admit that you want to let go of?
What’s the worst thing another person could think about you?
What’s the best question you’ve ever been asked?
What do you need to make more time for in your life right now?
Are there any emotions you were taught to fear?
GROUP PLAY
Share something you admire about each person at the table.
Tell a favorite childhood story.
Name a power of the person to your left.
What is something you look forward to sharing with each person at the table?
If you played, we want to know how it went. DM us your Inner Child realisations, experiences and surprise at @ch_void.
