Of all the questions in the world, the one that is perhaps asked the most is why?
Why is a question to elicit understanding, but it is like a double-edged sword.
How is that?
Why can be one of the most difficult questions to deal with.
Unfortunately, there is not always an answer to our whys?
For example:
Why must we suffer?
Why did it happen to me?
Why can’t I get ahead?
Sincerely, no one can answer those questions, for not all things have a rationale, and not all explanations are just.
So it is, when there is so much left to the universe, to open interpretation, asking why leaves us with more questions than solutions.
In such cases, the contention is strong.
And many will contend that it’s simply foolish to dwell on the why and simply stop asking.
But on this sentiment, I do not agree.
There is a purpose and place for everything.
Inquiry helps us to improve, progress, and grow. Even when there seems to be nothing to learn, there is always a lesson.
Discovery
Frankly, asking why doesn’t merely lead to endless conundrums. Asking why also leads to discovery.
Why, is also a question of purpose?
When one wants to form a solution or provide a fix to something, one of the first things they must inquire is, why something is broken?
Without knowing the why behind a broken thing, you can’t possibly know how to fix it.
The Significance of Why in Achievement
When setting out on a journey to do the remarkable, or create magic in the world, knowing your why is the core of impetus.
A few questions which can be asked on the path to discovery,
Why am I doing this?
Why is this so important?
Why do I need to keep pushing?
If your why is powerful enough, it will sustain you.
Keep Your Why In Front of You
Once your why (motive) is discovered, keep it in front of you like a guiding lamplight for the midnight hours of life. Because It will lead you to your destination.
As someone once said.
One of the most pertinent success factors is often having a big enough why.
When you find that your why becomes so much bigger than your what if? Then nothing will stand in your way.
All highly competent people continually search for ways to keep learning, growing, and improving. They do that by asking WHY. After all, the person who knows HOW will always have a job, but the person who knows WHY will always be the boss.
Inquiry means to question. It is the process by which we find insight.
Inquiry is an investigation, a seeking after. It is a tool that drives knowledge.
As one person once said, the more you know, the more you grow.
And in the words of another,
“Part of being successful is about asking questions and listening to the answers.” Anne Burrell
The Purpose of this Series
So, this series touches on some of the most important points of inquiry one will put forth in their life. With great hope, this series may guide you into asking better questions. Or, it may also help you determine which question you should be asking to move forward and live your best life. Whatever measure you might find this useful, hopefully, it serves to motivate you.
There are six major investigative questions, as most of us have learned from our grade school studies. Those questions are what, why, when, where, who, and how? And as an extra measure, I included the question, what if at the start of this series.
What is an inquiry of direction? It is the question one poses when definition or clarity is needed.
In life, one must remember that it is impossible to go anywhere or accomplish anything unless they have defined their what.
And, so it is, what becomes one of the most important guiding questions on the path to success.
Very Little Clarity at the Start
Starting is never as simple as it seems. You might not always have everything figured out when you start on a path. In fact, you may be very confused because acclimation is a process.
And confirmation often comes after the start.
That is why “what” is one of the best questions one can ask when setting on a path to better understanding?
In all our lives, we have a period of learning ourselves. This period starts when we become toddlers and start exploring our world.
We then seek to understand how and where we fit in.
Funny enough, before we can completely understand ourselves and how we relate to our environments, one of the first questions we are asked is, what do we want to be when we grow up?
At the time of such an inquisition, it is rare that we even have an inkling of who we desire to be. So we go by the things we observe, the things most prevalent in our environments. That is how we determine our choice.
Our initial selection rarely becomes our last!
Sometimes it takes a lifetime to discover what we want or are meant to become.
We look at our world, our separate environments for markers, for cues to help us determine what is possible and acceptable. And, if the things that fill our imagination neither seem possible nor acceptable, we reshape our aim.
This is sad, but that is how we come to choose our paths. Fortunately, there is a silver lining.
Things don’t have to remain the way they were.
Never too Late to Find Your What?
Yes, much of what you want is shaped by your environment and peers, which can be stifling.
But it’s never too late to make alterations.
Because fortunately, if you want something enough, you have the power to shape your reality to match your desires rather than bowing to what you have been taught to believe was an impossibility.
However, this requires a constant re-examination, asking oneself,
Is this what I really want? And then what can I do about what I have discovered?
Trust that If you want to live a fulfilled life, what is a question you cannot avoid asking?
The market is replete with literature on instructions for goal accomplishment. And this is for good reasons. We all want to be fulfilled. Where there is a need, a market always arises to meet the demand. So, there is no surprise that the information out there is massive. And much of it is helpful provided one finds the right system.
Self-Determination
Much of personal growth and success material focuses on self-determination and pulling oneself up by their bootstraps.
Undoubtedly, It is 100% true your dreams will not work for you unless you do. However, that is only part of it.
EGO
Sometimes we lose sight of what’s vital in our quest to succeed. We lose sight of a purpose. And our I’s become too big. Our trek becomes one huge selfish endeavor.
There are so many goals or dreams upon which we could direct our sights. But, for most, the search for success, achievement, or fulfillment all boils down to one word” Significance!” Most desires arise out of a need to be significant.
Significance
That is an excellent word. Significance indicates a sense of importance or value. There is no better feeling or desire than wanting to be valued and feel important. Those who have gained significance in the world have made some unimaginable contributions So a desire to leave a mark on the world is, as one would say, a grand pursuit.
To Be Seen/Heard
Desiring to be seen and not melt into the fiber of existence is how most want to see their lives. Face it, who wants to leave the world feeling as if they were never here.
I, for one, wish to leave the world knowing that my life meant something that I mattered.
Noble/EGO Driven
On the face of things, it seems noble to desire significance. And to lay it plain, there is nothing wrong with it. However, the problem is when one’s reach for meaning becomes EGO-driven.
What do you mean?
If an individual’s quest for significance is fueled by the need to prove a point or garner respect, it’s probably EGO-driven. Or if the pursuit of Significance is to garner acceptance and love, then it’s a pretty good indicator it’s EGO driven. EGO Driven behavior always looks to see how it will benefit self.
The plight of EGO driven Pursuits
While it seems noble to pursue significance, to do so for selfish motives is a matter of self-aggrandization (inflation). Simply, it is for show.
Then some wonder why nothing is working out.
Why do things seem to work against them rather than for them?
Well, It’s because there is ambiguity under the surface.
Viktor Frankl once wrote a book entitled “Man’s Search for Meaning,” and it is an excellent read. Admittedly on my current trajectory. I am on a search for the intent underlying my vision.
You see, I want to ensure that my reason for following the path I am on is pure. I want to make sure it is not out of a selfish desire. It is essential for me to ensure the motive behind my pursuits are not EGO driven (Edging God Out)
EGO (Edging God Out)
When we work in ourselves, we can only do things in our strength. We do the best we can, put forth our greatest effort. And yet, there is so much we still don’t know. So, when we rely on ourselves (EGO), we limit ourselves.
However, when we surrender to a higher power, we lock into a more significant power source. We open ourselves to more excellent opportunities. We open ourselves to unlimitable possibilities as opposed to when we operate in self, for self, and because of self. It is then we are operating on pure EGO. That is something we cannot sustain.
” Success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side effect of one’s personal dedication to a cause greater than oneself or as the by-product of one’s surrender to a person other than oneself.” -Viktor Frankl
A Word for You
Consider your motivations.
Look at the rationale behind your purpose. What are you striving for?
Do you desire to be a performer because you love it and want to share your gift with the world, or is the desire instead to be cherished and applauded?
Do you want to be a doctor to heal others, or do you want prestige, acceptance, and esteem?
Do you want to start a charity out of a desire to give back or be recognized as benevolent?
When you start considering your motivations, you will realize what is holding you back.
When you seek significance out of a pure place then you will receive what you are looking for! When you give, honestly give, without an expectation, and that is when it will be given back to you in ways unimaginable and you will start to experience greater fulfillment.
“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” –
Life is full of challenges. This is not a new concept to anyone who has lived, But life is not only filled with challenges. Life is also filled with opportunities.
And in fact, depending on your mindset, the challenges are nothing more than cloaked opportunities. And those who see it as such tend to rise above.
They don’t stay down for the count when they are knocked down. In fact, when they fall, they are thankful for the pause. This has given them the opportunity to be grounded, look up, look within, and find that second wind, and often they come back swinging. They are that much stronger than before.
A Contender or a Champion
What is the skill that sets a Contender apart from a Champion?
What is it that these people do differently?
There are a lot of answers to that question, but there is one thing, in particular, these formidable spirits have learned.
They have learned the art of responding to life rather than reacting to life.
Some unquestionably are scratching their heads right now as they have for long-lived, assuming both are the same.
But they are not.
A reaction is a guttural response to something that has happened to one’s person. It’s automatic. It takes little thought.
For example, if an individual cuts you off, you give the person a piece of your mind without stopping to think about what that person might be going through. It is a poor way to interact with the world and usually calls more pain than anything. People who quickly react often find themselves cleaning up their messes later.
First Responders: Champions in the Making
Those who have learned to respond have discovered the beauty of stopping to think before acting. These are those who have mastered the art of turning challenges into opportunities.
The Process
They stop to assess the challenge and turn it over in their mind.
They assess what is needed to surmount the challenge rather than running headfirst into it.
A Tale of a Little Champion
There is a tale of a little train of which many have heard.
There once was a train miniature in stature that came up against an almost insurmountable obstacle. The further the train went, the harder it seemed. But this little train wasn’t ordinary. He was rather Extraordinary.
That little engine knew how to respond to its challenge. It didn’t stop when it was faced with what seemed like an impossibility.
When every bit of logic contended, it should give up because the wall it faced was ginormous and unscalable.
It didn’t give up. It looked at the obstacle and said ‘I think I can until it knew it could!”
I am still learning day today. There have been many times I have reacted in life even overreacted. And by grace, it didn’t lay me horizontally. permanently. Sometimes we sit in life’s classroom repeating the exam until we learn the lesson.
I am learning to apply the lessons. I am becoming a student of life. One of the outcomes of my lesson is learning to respond to life’s challenges. And I am being blessed like never before.
Back to the Beginning
Returning to what I said at the beginning.
At the start, I offered opposing views of reality permitting you to see two sides of the coin. However, for those whose desire to become champions there need only exist one side of the coin.
This is the reality they must learn to put before them every day.
That is,
In reality, there are no challenges only opportunities.
Life is full of opportunities to better yourself and to become wildly successful,
“You don’t become enormously successful without encountering a number of extremely challenging problems.” Mark Victor Hansen
Final Words the Final Transformation
So If you dream of a fulfilling life or living out your wildest dream, then begin by reframing how you look at life.
Learn the art of surrender.
Learn to take life as it comes.
Look at what comes at you with a more open mind and attempt to find the silver lining in those gray clouds.
When we think of energy, fuel comes to mind. In biological/physiological terms, one thinks of a powering source needed to meet our objectives, to get work done.
Transference
As humans, we derive our chemical energy to power body processes from food sources.
Those sources transfer nutrients to us, which our body uses to create energy (ATP process)
However this is not a physiology/Biology lesson. I
Instead, this is about transference.
Spiritual Energy
We all carry spiritual energy. The energy that we travel with is either positive or negative that precedes and follows us.
Some have powerful fields while others have weaker ones.
Nevertheless, we are all subject to energy transfer.
What does Transfer Mean in (vibration) Spirit?
When we encounter others, there is an energy exchange.
Those who are particularly sensitive to energy fields will immediately feel a change upon meeting another person. Others will be affected over time (after spending some time in the company of others). Meaning others rub off on us.
How does this knowledge work for you? How does it help you?
Positive energy creates a mental state and an environmental state conducive to success.
“There’s a direct connection between positive energy and positive results,” Joe Rogan.
So, If you desire success, you must create ideal circumstances to make that happen. So, your aim is to emit positivity to create a more positive space.
“Energy flows where attention goes!” -James Redfield.
To create and maintain that state of being, place yourself in a position to draw more of that to yourself. You must direct your attention to positive things and people.
You must extract yourself from the negative.
“If you ever walk down a path surrounded by negative energy, look for the fork in the path then cross over to the positive side.” Victoria Addino
Protect your peace and state of mind at all costs.
If seeking to increase momentum and focus, seek people with similar energies. This may and may not take effort on your part. However, the more positive you are, the more likely you will draw those people to you.
“You draw the people and events that resonate with the energy you are radiating. You attract what you are, so be your best.” Lynda Field
Here is the kicker.
If you always seem to draw negative people or find yourself in adverse situations, you must ask questions.
What are you emitting? We typically attract what we are.
Self-Evaluation Time
If you don’t like what you are attracting or the things occurring in your life, chances are some internal assessment is necessary. Change is necessary.
Remember that if you want the world to change, your circumstances to change, or your outcomes to change, you must become the change you desire from the world.
Inspiraelevation 