From Why to Why Not

“Why do we have to change”, “Why can’t we keep doing what we use to do?”, “Why is this happening?”, “Why me?”, “Why now?”

Restrictions, Boundaries, Confines. These are all limiting questions, linked to fixed mindsets. A mindset that avoids challenging the status quo, that avoids engaging the edge of your perceived boundaries, that avoids stretching and learning. People are generally averse to change (insert any one of thousands of scholarly references here). They prefer the comfort of the well understood and intimately known scenarios, of the predictable, of the norm.

Often when change is presented, our first response is to ask Why. Shifting your mindset from Why to Why Not can be very liberating and enabling.

Using the five Whys method we can challenge this behavior. We can systematically dig deeper into the root cause of our assumptions, to unearth the basic thinking of why we do what we do. And when we find that there is no valid reason, no justifiable concern that it addresses or edge that it gives, and that even more so, it actually detracts from our performance, we get to thinking “Why Not?”. At this point we shift from Fixed to Growth mindset. We reach for the untapped, new thinking, we challenge ourselves to look at the problem from a different angle.

Why Not feels like its at least 51% positive, as if you are trying to say “It feels right, and we should just check that there are no glaring issues”

Why Not feels like its at least 51% positive, as if you are trying to say “It feels right, and we should just check that there are no glaring issues”, as opposed to “It feels wrong, and we need to prove that it can work”. It presents a hypothesis thinking approach, one in which we can experiment, in which we can learn, in which we can grow.

Why Not feels enabling, its got a positive ring to it, almost as if we can chant it while we push at the core restricting assumptions that make the foundation of our limiting beliefs. All while keeping a positive attitude, an open mind and an eagerness believed to be found only in the na?ve, the young and the bright eyed and bushy tailed.

Changing your mindset from Fixed to Growth requires proactive actions, reflective and mindful focus, it requires brutal self-honesty. Things that you can do all by yourself. It also requires a safe space to learn, to ask questions, to make mistakes, to grow. To achieve this balance we need to promote accountability, enablement, trust. We need to ensure that we create an environment in which free thinking can flourish, is advocated, is supported and valued.

So, after all this rambling, I leave you with this:

Why Not?

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