The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existence. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery each day Albert Einstein
Source: Wait but why
If there is one single word that defines curiosity it is the word “Why?”. We often say that a curious mind can take you places. And, it all begins by asking the question “Why?”
Sounds simple? Yeah. But, why do we still miss it?
“Why” is one of the most simple and early English words a child is taught/listens.
Why did you come late for school? Why didn’t you do your homework? Why did you not come to school? Why is your uniform inappropriate?
Or you may be asking yourself right now “Why am I reading this post?” The reason is that in our day-to-day life, we never stop to ponder upon an English word and think about its significance. Well, here is your chance to experience it with me. The beauty of “Why” is that it can reveal secrets or information unfamiliar to us. The more you ask it, the more you may know.
Example:
X: Hey, We are not going to run this program. Y: Why are we not going to run this program? X: Because we don’t have the money. (Insight 1) Y: Why don’t we have the money? X: Because we have overshot our budget. (Insight 2) Y: Why did we overshoot our budget? X: Because our earlier program vendor charged us more fees than expected. (Insight 3) Y: Why did he charge us more money? X: Because we changed our requirements at the end moment. (Insight 4) Y: Why did we change our requirements? X: Because the team didn’t have a consensus on the initial requirements.(Insight 5) Y: Why did the team not have a consensus? X: Because the decision is made by one person without consultation with the other team members (Insight 6)
If you notice, every why here reveals you an insight that is unique, unknown, and closer to the resolution. If you had made the decision to stop yourself at the 3rd question, you would not have figured out that the team structure needs to be revised. Rather, you would have gone up to fight with the vendor. Knowing the why of everything is important if you wish to get to the root of a process/problem.
But what stops us from asking so many whys? It can be:
The thought of looking dumb in front of people
Fear of annoying people with questions
Lack of curiosity
A bias that you already know what needs to be known
Not knowing whom to ask
While the reasons above seem very understandable and valid. I only have one question here
“Why stop yourself from knowing more due to some fear?”
Trust me, there is no good answer to this question. Go ahead, answer it and continue to ask yourself many why. Every answer will only lead you to the conclusion — Don’t stop yourself, Just ask! And if you are still not convinced. Take a Leap of faith, buddy! You will be surprised.
Source: https://twitter.com/fosslien I am working as a program management consultant with an FMCG client. I have recently joined the organization and I have 2 mantras to understand the work.
Actively listen with an open mind
Understand the “Why” of everything
I am trying to imbibe this habit of asking why. I hope you do it too :)
Chaitali Bansal
Comments