The Myth of Why

If we know how to live, we don’t need a why. We don’t need to know why we are unhappy, but how to be cheerful. A. B. Curtiss

“Why” is not the answer to “how.” I'm a believer there aren't many answers in "why," and we shouldn't spend much time discovering and digging up reasons. “Why” tells us about our past or what we are doing wrong, but provides little guidance to reshaping our future.

Our unending quest for “why” is to discover the source(s) keeping us from accomplishing what we want. We’ve been lead to believe that once we know the source of the problem, we can fix it and all will be well.

“Why” may be valuable in learning golden nuggets of relief, peace, and understanding about the challenge. Nevertheless, you won’t often find the road map to what you desire in discovering “why.”

Let’s take an example of self-improvement. I’ve struggled with negative thinking most of my life. Years of searching highlighted many valid explanations for my past negativity. I learned the details, reasons, and causes that fostered complete understanding of my negative influences. The “why” part.

Yet knowing “why” didn’t bare much fruit. It didn’t help me move forward at all. I still needed to learn the skills for “how” to be authentically positive and upbeat. I made giant leaps forward when I stopped searching for “why” and attempting to fix it the problem.

Spending my time studying and modeling the right and healthy way to think, the “how to move forward” part, was the answer. Use your greatest resource, time, and stop searching for “why” and start searching for “how.”