Bring Back the ‘Why?’

One of my favorite strategies to use with clients is helping them ask (and hopefully answer) the question ‘why’ without activating their autopilot. If we’re trying to narrow down a niche, I might ask, “what does a really bad day look like for your perfect client?” If we’re trying to confront procrastination, I might ask, “Outside of discipline, what else would you add or remove, to solve this?” If we’re trying to be more vulnerable, I might ask, “What benefit are you getting from being closed off?”

These questions are intended to lead us to the real answer, not the red herring we’ve been interrogating this whole time. At its core, is the question most of us lost long ago, “Why?”

When we were kids, we were annoyingly curious and as we matured (I’m very curious about what we choose to identify as maturity), we learned to get rid curiosity instead of annoying behavior. We started to believe the lie that learning without purpose is frivolous and childish instead of valuable and innocent. Yet, curiosity, which walks hand in hand with creativity and innovation, is what we admire most in some of our biggest heroes.

Hmm… I wonder if they’re so great because they didn’t forfeit what we think we lost, imagination.

Impactful creativity belongs to the curious and audacious, not the talented and privileged. It’s not measured by recognition or profit, unless you accept those limitations. I mean, how big can it grow if you’re nurturing it in a cage?

So, don’t let asking why become your last resort after logic and surveying don’t provide closure. Don’t only ask why to climb the ladder or deal with the hard stuff because if those are the only questions you ask, those are the only answers you get. Yay!!! You won bigger numbers (not higher value) and more information about the things you wish you didn’t know in the first place.

If you’ve ever found yourself asking, “is this all there is?” then my question to you is, “is this all that you asked for?” and if so… WHY?