Contrary to (sometimes) popular belief there are very few things in this world keeping you from doing exactly what you have always wanted to do.
Yes, of course, there are resource problems. No matter how much you wish it, it will still be a wee bit difficult to work up the down payment for that Mclaren you’ve had your eyes on, and no matter how much grunt work you are willing to put in, it will be still be a chore to construct a life-sized replica of the Sears Tower out of square-cut diamonds. Resource problems are a given for any creative endeavor, but the truth is they are not what end up stopping us in most cases.
In most cases, creative projects are derailed by the “Why” problem.
Society has trained us to be very good at breaking problems down into steps and completing those steps. The more structured the plan, the easier it is for us to complete and the more single-minded we are when we try to complete it. Usually the only thing we concern ourselves with is trying to overcome procrastination, distraction and the general malaise that comes from set backs. What society has not given us the software to handle is the question why. Why do we want to write that book? Why do we want to start a company? Why do we want to create a business in this particular way at this particular time? It’s the answers to these questions that give our projects meaning, and often we get so caught up in the doing we forget to take time to understand why we’re doing it.
Let me first say that Why is not What. What is easy to understand.
What am I doing?
I am writing a book that I hope to have published by Harper Collins.
What do I need to do to accomplish this?
I need to outline it, write up a draft, bash my head repeatedly against my writing desk until I turn the mediocre pap I’ve turned out into something palatable, and then turn it in to my editor to tear it apart.
What is formulaic and fits into the plan we’ve put together to get things done. It’s simple, clean and mechanical.
Why on the other hand is a structural question.
Why forces us to figure out what is actually driving our behavior and how our projects fits into our wider goals. Why also serves to protect us against falling into a grind and turn our projects into something greater than a series of disconnected actions. If we don’t understand why our book is only the first step to our goal of becoming a speaker, it will be a lot harder to drag ourselves through it when we find ourselves stuck on chapter four.
Before you throw yourself into a project, test it against Why. Ask how it fits into your goals. Better yet, ask yourself what comes next and whether that is something that is worth putting in all the effort.
Not only will asking Why help give your projects more meaning, but it will also act as an excellent filter for determining whether you should be starting a new project in the first place.
Image by openpad
Steve Spalding is an entrepreneur and, among other things, author of the How To Split An Atom blog.
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Steve: this is excellent. I started Thoughtwrestling after going through both the What and Why exercises. My why(s) for starting Thoughtwrestling came down to this: I wanted a platform where I could work with talented people and create content that could help people who were stuck, uncertain, and even a bit scared of taking on creative projects (or personal projects, if you like). I hope we can extend that further over time. Posts like this are a great help to moving us forward. Thanks!
Steve, I love this post! I love the “why” question. It’s really the most important question and it’s often never asked. So we get lost in what Seth Godin calls “busy-ness.”
One of the problems people seem to have is a belief that “why” has to be answered with something very logical, tangible, practical. “I’m building a house so people can live in it and be sheltered from the elements.”
But a lot of times the answer is, “Just because.” I think it’s okay to say you don’t know. Sometimes it’s simply because people need to do something, anything. If that’s the answer, people should say that. “I just feel like doing it. I’m not sure why.”
One of my favourite lines is from Paul Simon’s song Graceland: “For reasons I cannot explain there’s some part of me wants to see Graceland.” That’s a good enough reason. But you still need to ask why in order to understand that you feel that way.
G’Day Steve,
Dare i raise a mildly dissenting voice? “Why” is a great word to use if you want opinions. But if you want information,try the rest of Rudyard Kipling’s ‘serving men.’
They are “what, which, when, how and who.”
Just a thought.
Regards
Leon
[...] It’s all exciting and new, but I feel myself falling into the trap of surfing and connecting without clear purpose and alignment to my goals. I’m trying to combat this with better goal setting and planning, as well as trying to force myself to ask the why question. [...]
Leon, you’re right to link the journalist’s 5 key questions (Kipling’s “serving men”) to the finding and weighing and organizing and transmitting of information, but don’t underestimate poor “Why”!
“Why” is hard to pin down; a slippery, flexible creature that has as much to do with instinct as with analysis. It’s two questions in one:
Ask it after a project has been completed and you’re doing a cause-and-effect analysis (which may or may not have basis in hard fact) or soliciting opinions, yes… but asking “Why” before the project starts is essential to figuring out its purpose, how it fits in with your goals, and even whether the project is worth launching in the first place!
This is in a way what I really teach about in my voice lessons. I think it is very important. You can really hear the difference between a performer who know his/her why from soneone who doesn’t. I would go so far to say that one of the reasons people get stuck is because they focus mostly on “how” instead of “why”.
I actually wrote about this on my blog as well a while ago. Sorry to advertise so blatantly but if anyone is interested I have more about this at my blog and it is too much for just a comment.
Great to see more people write about this. Thanks!
[...] Why (perhaps the most important question) [...]