Why Ask Why?
It could change your entire life.
I’ve always been an inquisitive person. From when I was a little kid I wouldn’t stop asking my parents Why, as many kids often do —
Why is the sky blue?
Why do I have to wear this?
Why is there no school today?
Why, Why, Why…?
While it sure drove them nuts, it gave me a satisfaction as to why things truly are the way they are. It was my only way to grasp the world around me. To me, nothing in my environment was “just because”. There was always a deeper meaning. And I wanted to know.
Fast forward to today, asking why has allowed me to create the life of my dreams as an entrepreneur. At my previous job, I’d notice many of my colleagues did not raise their hands or question the way things were done. They just did, as if we were little elves dropped on this planet to perform with robotic precision. With no emotion and no reason. This could not be farther from the truth.
If you want to find your true purpose, ask yourself,
Why do you do what you do?
Why is it important to you?
Why will it help your career goals?
Why are you the best fit for it?
Why this company?
This will make you rethink how you see your entire career. For me, the answer to these why’s didn’t align to the vision I had for my life.
I why’d myself out of my comfy job.
People who don’t bother to ask why never challenge the status quo. They take everything the way it is. But life is not predetermined. It is up to us to question everything, to find new paradigms, to change the way we do things, and to ultimately find a better solution.
If we didn’t ask why we can’t stream tv, we wouldn’t have Netflix.
If we didn’t ask why we can’t use our own cars as cabs, we wouldn’t have Uber.
If we didn’t ask why we can’t stay in other people’s homes, we wouldn’t have Airbnb.
Innovation is born from asking Why.
Sakichi Toyoda developed a framework known as the “Five Whys” originally used at Toyota Motor Corporation during the evolution of their manufacturing methodologies. The 5 Whys is an interrogative technique used to understand the cause-effect relationship that underlies any given problem. It typically takes five iterations to get to the root cause of a problem.
For Example:
I can’t go to the gym for a run today.
Why? The treadmill in my gym is not working.
Why? The digital screen is broken.
Why? Nobody came to fix it.
Why? The mechanic was not called.
Why? The building doesn’t manage repairs properly.
If someone read my original statement, their initial assumption would be to say that I’m lazy, injured or maybe just too busy. The reality through asking these whys brings out the root cause that is far different than what we would initially perceive. People who ask why are not quick to lay judgement. They are more thoughtful in their approach.
Asking why is the most important question we will ever ask in our lives.
From business to relationships to ourselves, asking why is fundamental to understanding the underlying cause for everything. It’s why we often hear that our life’s purpose is to find our why. We must question our beliefs and underlying values to derive what makes us who we are. We cannot expect to feel fulfilled till we understand our why.
The good news is that asking why is intrinsic to human nature. It is ingrained in us as kids and we just have to learn to reactivate it as adults. We are blessed with a robust cognitive ability, so accepting things at surface level is a huge injustice to ourselves and to those around us. So why hold back?
