Find Your Big Why With These 3 Questionnaires
The following is adapted from Down Home Money.
Do you know your big why? If you’re familiar with this phrase, a big why is your purpose in life. Why do you get out of bed every day? What fuels your fire? What motivates you?
To discover your big why, you have to know yourself. When I walked away at the height of my career in 2018 is when my big why came together. I realized what was missing from my life: I wanted significance and to make a difference. I wanted to help people see what money can do for them and their families, so I created the Down Home Money platform and community. It helps others achieve financial freedom and lets me live out my big why every day.
Discovering your own big why may not happen overnight, and it may change over time, but it’s critical to a fulfilling life. You have to know who you are and why you are the way you are.
To learn these things about yourself, you have to be willing to sit and think. You have to pay attention to your thoughts and reactions and be present in your day-to-day life. In this article, I’m sharing three questionnaires that will help you get to know yourself: what gives you joy, what you value, how you view money, and what gives your life purpose and meaning.
The level of awareness you’ll gain completing them can help you find your big why.
1: The Joy Questionnaire
There’s a difference between happiness and joy. Happiness is temperamental and based on external people, places, and events. Joy comes from within and isn’t dependent on your circumstances. You might be over-the-moon happy one day because you got a new job, and then lose that happiness the next day because you get into a car accident.
We often have a hard time discovering what gives us joy because we don’t stop long enough to declutter our minds and think about it. The endless daily cycle and our routines on repeat don’t leave us the margin to stop and consider our source of joy. Carve out some time to complete the following questions about joy and how you experience it:
- On a scale of 1 to 10, how joyful are you?
- What are the top five things that give you joy?
- Describe how you feel when you are joyful.
- What one thing can you do (or what one person can you be around) that always gives you joy?
- If you could remove three things from your life or environment, with the result being more joy, what would they be?
- Name three moments in your life when you felt overwhelming joy.
- Do you consider your life being one of joy or sadness?
- What steps can you take to have more joy in your life?
- What one thing will you change today to have a more joyful life?
It’s important to slow down and focus on being who you really want to be. Find the sources of joy in your life and you’ll find contentment regardless of your circumstances.
2: The Wealth Questionnaire
In the dictionary, wealth is defined as “an abundance of valuable possessions or money.” In truth, wealth differs for everyone and isn’t always tied to money or things.
Wealth is a choice you make in how you live your daily life. You can be wealthy without a lot of material possessions and money.
Figure out what financial freedom will look like for you by analyzing your responses to the following questions:
- How do you describe wealth?
- What do you need to have or own to think of yourself as wealthy?
- Do you feel you are wealthy?
- How would your life change if you were wealthy?
- What are you willing to do or give up to start your journey to wealth?
Did you find that you were wealthier than you ever imagined? Knowing your true source of wealth will open your mind to the possibilities of what wealth can be and how you can pursue more of it.
The Purpose Questionnaire
Purpose involves the way you influence others. Discovering your purpose keeps you going when life is difficult.
Answer these questions to identify your purpose:
- If you could do anything and you weren’t limited by time, money, or location, what would you be doing right now?
- What one thing fills you up every time you do it?
- Why are you in the job you’re in? (i.e., Are you making a difference? Are you working in your passion?)
- What are you truly passionate about?
- When you look back on your life, what do you want to be remembered by?
Life is hard, but living without purpose is harder. If you know your purpose, everything else falls into place. Commit to using what you’ve learned about your purpose to direct the decisions you make in your life.
Why Your Big Why is Worth Your Time
From day to day, most people don’t spend the time to dwell on these big why questions, but finding the answers is instrumental to finding fulfillment in all aspects of your life. Until you find your big why, you’ll repeat the same actions over and over and then complain when your outcomes don’t change. This is the very definition of insanity.
To stop the insanity, you have to ask the questions that lead to self-discovery. Your big why will help you work toward something meaningful and you will become more joy filled and passionate. Knowing your big why will positively influence your life in countless ways. It will give purpose to your life, help you stay focused on your goals, and provide you with the vision to achieve them. This is why your big why is the key to a life of significance.
For more advice on finding your big why, you can find Down Home Money on Amazon.
Myra Oliver is a Kentucky girl who started her career as a hairstylist and became a real estate broker/investor and entrepreneur. She currently owns multiple Keller Williams Realty franchises. After earning enough passive income through smart saving and real estate investments, Myra sold her hair salon and retired in her thirties. Three years later, she found her passion in helping others build their own streams of passive income through real estate investments. Myra lives in Denton, Texas with her husband, Rick, and their chihuahua, Izzy. To learn more about financial freedom and living your best life, visit her website, downhomemoney.com.
