Your Why: Survey Your World

Thank you so much for the incredible appreciation you showed us for last week’s post, Why?.

At the end of that post we asked that you consider your why. We received a number of questions about how to figure out your why, so this week and next week we’re sharing some things to consider to help you articulate it.

Many people struggle with articulating their why because they believe it has to be big and grand. Remember, it’s your why—why you do what you do in your life, why you get up in the morning, why you make the choices you do.

We’d like to help you name your why and own it!

This week, we encourage you to explore your why by using a series of questions as you survey your world. We created a PDF for you to easily fill in your answers. Click here to download.

Survey Your World

As you think about your why, start with the following questions. Do a quick survey of your world and what it has to teach you. Ask yourself:

• When I’m the happiest at work:
  • What have I done?
  • What impact have I had?
  • What does my work contribute to?
  • Then consider, why do I do this work?
• When I’m most content with my home life:
  • What have I been doing?
  • Who have I been with?
  • What impact have I had on my surroundings and the people in my world?
  • Then consider, why do I feel best under these circumstances?
• When I am out in the world:
  • When do I feel engaged and involved?
  • Who do I most enjoy being around?
  • What am I doing when I’m most satisfied?
  • Then consider, why do I gravitate to these experiences?

Once you’ve answered questions about work, home, and world, see if you feel more confident in describing your why.

This week we suggest you play with naming your why. Write it down and live with it a while to see if it helps you make decisions that are more in alignment with what matters to you.