It’s not WHAT. It’s WHY.

Most people look at what others are doing and base their opinion on the actions of the individuals.  

JAMES HAMBLIN, MD shares: “John Sylvan didn’t know what he had. Sylvan thought there was a market for a device that would brew a single cup of coffee at a time. After much experimentation, he came up with the device and the little plastic cup that would hold the coffee. He and his college roommate decided to name his invention using the Dutch word for excellence: Keurig. 

In 2014, more than 9 billion of those little plastic cups were sold, generating more than $4 billion of income, according to a recent issue of The Atlantic. However, Sylvan didn’t receive any of that money; back in 1997, he sold his share of the company for $50,000. When he was bought out of Keurig in 2007 1997, he turned around and bought stock in Green Mountain for $3.20 per share. He sold the stock a couple years ago when it broke $140.” 

The majority of people assume they understand what you do without discovering why you do it. In my career I have visited thousands of people in their homes. It amazed me the choices people make regarding their priorities, purchases and lifestyle. It became clearer when I invested the time to discover the why behind their decisions. 

In my view people make decisions based, more, on the why behind the decision than the decision. When my wife and I began adopting children the biggest reason was that we tried to have children for nine years with no luck. After we adopted our third child the reason (the why) changed to saving children. We adopted three more children. Our why was changed which pushed us to go above and beyond what we thought was possible. 

Again, it’s so easy to judge a person’s actions while having no idea behind the motivation (the why) behind the choices they make from day-to-day. Matshona Dhliwayo says, “Never judge an eagle by the opinion of turkeys.”  

Compassion, however, looks at people from a different set of eyes. It looks at them from the perspective of why instead of what. This approach it summed up by Stephen Covey’s words, “Seek first to understand then by understood.” 

When you look at people through the eyes of why you see them in a light that most of society ignores. It’s like the homeless people on the streets of many cities. Most people assume certain things about them and have no idea why they live on the streets. Assumptions are shortcuts. Assumptions are easy. Discovering the why in people’s lives takes time. It takes an investment. 

Your confirmation bias limits you to the world of what and ignores the world of why. When you look through the eyes of why you will see beauty in people that you never thought existed.

Nesta Jojoe Erskine writes, “People make mistakes. When you judge them, you measure their weakness against your own strength. That’s not a fair measure. They have their strength, too. Their strength might be the weakest point in your life.”  

It’s not WHAT…it’s WHY.https://conta.cc/2RCrnzD 

I Believe in you!