Avoiding the Tyranny of the Hows

At the core of every vision lies a question: Why? As popularized by Simon Sinek's The Golded Circle in Start With Why, starting with Why is the best way to get at the core of your aspirations. Why has the power to evolve into How, detailed through plans and priorities. How ultimately leads to What, a crystallized version of idea into reality.

Logic dictates that as we look to fulfill our dreams we should focus on the How. While this has some truth to it, “How?” is a supremely powerful question. “How?” can be humbling, scary even. “How?” can be tyrannical.

?In her book Pivot author Jenny Blake calls this phenomenon the “tyranny of the hows”. Let’s say you’re unhappy in your current job situation. Perhaps you’d be happier in a new role. Maybe you’d be happier in a different department altogether. But how could you make that move happen? Wouldn’t you need to first stand out in your current job? The reality is that any of these options – or none of them - might be the right one. All of these questions – or none of them – might be useful. You can see how quickly asking “How might I stop being unhappy in my current job situation?” can send you into a problem-solving spiral that only leads to panic and uncertainty. Worse, muddles your vision and makes it impossible to decide on a general direction.

If you want help overcoming the tyranny of the hows, coaching help. Learn more.

Of course, there is a time and place for asking "How?". That is when you are confident and clear in your Why. When your vision is concrete, even if it's not always perfectly clear. When you know What you want to achieve, even if you’re not entirely sure how this will happen.

If you’re unsure of What you want to do exactly, challenge yourself by thinking of a one-year vision. Creating a one-year vision can be a difficult exercise, but forces you to make short-term choices while at the same time allowing yourself to visualize something bigger than what currently exists in your life. The most important How question to answer then becomes “How might I move forward and pursue what I want to do, even if my vision is somewhat clouded?”.

By flipping the question from an avoidance (“How might I stop being unhappy?”) to a pursuit (“How might I move forward?”) you are able to change your own narrative and remove the focus on fear. Fear does not generate momentum. Fear does not imbue confidence. Fear is a staller and it is a voice you must downplay if you are to escape the "tyranny of the hows".

As a certified Strengths Coach and Organizational Psychologist, I help my clients define their strengths, discern their potential and design a way forward, on to their next career breakthrough. Learn more.