When deciding on action and considering our future we often ask ‘what’ questions. ‘What shall I do?’; ‘What will happen?’; ‘What does the future hold?’ Asking these questions we may forget that, with very few exceptions, we can do anything, anything could happen and the future is a mystery. Asking ‘what’ is not very helpful.
What we should be asking instead is ‘why’. Deciding why we are to act in particular way specifies the action and makes ‘how’ a mere technicality.
Don’t ask ‘what’ but ask yourself ‘why’! Work out your reasons and motivation, and the action will present itself.
I think it must be true, simple ideas are the best. Good post, thanks for sharing the thought.
@Dr Dean: Glad you liked it (and very flattered as well).
I like this Maria. I consider myself to be a king of questions. I’ve been in sales for a good portion of my life and questions you ask are key. “What” is completely removed from my vocabulary. It’s now replaced with “how” and “why” like you said. The way I phrase my questions determine if someone opens up or simply gives me a “yes” or “no.”
@Funancials: It is great that you have got there and ‘what’ is out. I am coming shortly after you – in asking questions I am very much a theoretician but starting to act.
I like this – I think it applies to business too – we should be asking Why more often! 🙂
@Savvy Scot: It does apply to different walks of life. What I find interesting is that answering why helps define the ‘what’. I was just telling someone who is going for a job interview soon to thing about two kinds of whys: why does he want to work for the company, and why would the company want him to work for it. This will help avoid a big mistake: talking about yourself instead of saying what you will contibute.