Why Am I Doing This?

Why?

I once asked somebody online why they were doing a particular thing in their business because I could not understand the logic or reason behind it.

The question was: “I noticed that you are doing “x”, why do you do it like that?” and the reply I got was: “Well that is how everybody else does it!”

The implication in the answer was that it must be correct because everybody else does it like that and everybody else can’t be wrong.

I am sorry but I really don’t follow that logic at all.

In business you really must think for yourself. I am not saying that you have to find new solutions for problems which have already been solved but doing things just because everybody else does them is not a good reason at all.

I think a really easy Plus 1 in your life is the question “Why?” We have spoken about this before but taking the time to question why you do a certain thing or why you do it in a certain way or why you don’t do a certain thing is a useful Plus 1 for your business.

This will allow you to eliminate useless ‘busy work’ from your schedule and ensure that what remains is both efficient and necessary for your online business.

Questioning yourself helps you clarify your thoughts, highlight weaknesses and come up with improvements. It is a very powerful Plus 1 indeed.

4 thoughts to “Why Am I Doing This?”

  1. I often have to stop and ask the WHY question to myself at times. You are so right Patrick in that it does help to clarify and sift out the whys and the whynots in order to make a clearer path of thinking and doing. At least for me it does. Great food for thought on this one. I like it and WHY… because I just DO. 🙂

  2. Hi Jon,

    When I’m in the lab making molecules and doing chemistry I always ask “why was it done like that?”

    If I just repeat what I’m given it could become very expensive, or even worse rather explosive if I just repeat things on a bigger scale without thinking about things.

    Small changes such as using 5% less solvent, or making the process an hour faster can end up saving millions in 10 years time if what I’m working on ever makes it to become a commercial product.

    Small things can make huge differences.

    Andrew

  3. Oh, that’s an awesome question!

    And I think there are two distinct groups, those that seldom if ever ask themselves or others this question and the second group that do ask it often.

    There is no progress (either personal or for the community) without people asking “why”, but occasionally an inquisitive mind can get you into trouble.

    Whether you ask why to yourself or to somebody else, a response to this question usually leads to breakthroughs by challenging a “given”.

    Thank you Patrick for a great topic!

  4. Instead of why I often ask how can I do it differently? Why are they doing like that, and how can I do it differently? Though sometimes I love the way someone does something…usually because they do it differently, and I find myself trying to figure out how they did it.

    I get nervous, when everyone is doing the same thing…then I know it’s probably wrong.

    Nick

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.