top of page

The Most Inquisitive Question


Photo by mari lezhava on Unsplash

There won't be any suspense here. The most inquisitive question we can ask is "why."

Why is "why" the most inquisitive question we can ask? Besides that we just used it to inquire, let's compare it to the other "question" words. We will find that the other question words (who, what, where, and when) all point to a singular point of information.

1. Who - leads to a person or organization.

2. What - leads to a particular thing or event.

3. Where - leads us to a particular place.

4. When - leads us to a particular time.

In each of those cases, the question only leads to a single piece of information that usually satisfies our line of questioning. You are satisfied once you know the person or organization you were asking about. Satisfied once you know the thing, event, or fact. Satisfied once you know the singular location. Satisfied once you know the time an event took place.

Something else we notice when we use the other question words. In many cases, they just give us another starting point. "Why" is the drill we use to get more detailed information.

1. We get more information about the person's or organization's likes, desires, habits, and thoughts by asking "why."

2. We get more detail about the special characteristics of a thing or event.

3. We get into the history and significance of a place.

4. We dig more into the special circumstances surrounding a particular time.

In addition to finding out much more about anything we are curious about, the "why" question can be used to our advantage regarding our personal finances. Try for yourself in the future to use "why" to know more about:

1. who really drives your feelings and habits towards money. You, or someone else?

2. what are the things that truly drive your interest and passion?

3. where are you now financially, how you got there, and where you want to be in the future.

4. when will you start acting on all of this new information.

Socrates said that the un-examined life is not worth living. I believe that as you examine and understand yourself better by asking the "why" question, your life will be enriched immensely. Try it for yourself. What are you finding out new about yourself you didn't realize before you did a bit more digging?

bottom of page