Why do you want what you want?

How often do you really stop to ask yourself this question?

Given the opportunity, self-inquiry can lead to immense clarity, but you must want clarity. 

Spending time conducting self-inquiry can prevent you from pursuing things that you never desired, it can also clarify for you the reasons you want the things you do. 

Self-inquiry doesn’t need to take hours of searching for answers, it can take as little as a few minutes each day. It can be a brief conversation with yourself at the beginning of your day consisting of a few ‘why’ questions that reveal your true motivations. 

One of the best techniques for self-inquiry is the Five Whys method. The Five Whys is an iterative interrogative technique that has been used in the business world for years to get to the root cause of a problem.

For example, if you’re pursuing good health then the conversation might look something like this.

Why am I going to the gym? Because I want to work out.

Why do I work out? Because I want good health. 

Why am I pursuing good health? Because I want to feel better.

Why do I want to feel better? So that I can be healthy for my family. 

Why do I want to be healthy for my family? Because I love them. 

This might sound like an overly simple exercise, but the more frequently you can remind yourself about your personal ‘whys’ the more likely you are to pursue things that are important to you and not to others. 

So why not use it to give yourself a little friendly interrogation? You never know what some additional clarity in your life might do for you.