The Question Not Enough People Ask Themselves

We spend a lot of time talking about WHAT we want.

Some people want a new job. Others want a new website. Still others want better employees.

But not enough people ask WHY they want these things. When you ask why it is you think you want something, you might find out that it still wouldn’t get you what you’re really looking for.

“I want a new job.”
Why? Do you feel you’re not valued where you are? Do you think you aren’t paid enough? Are the hours too long? If the answer to WHY is that you want to feel valued, make more money, and have more control over when and where you work, maybe doing the same thing for a different company isn’t the answer.

“I want a new website.”
Why? Is nobody visiting your current site? Does it constantly crash? Is it full of out-of-date information? Maybe you need a marketing strategy to drive traffic to your site. Or to make sure someone in your organization is responsible for keeping it up and running, and frequently updated. Spending the money to give your site a facelift might not solve any of your problems.

“I want to hire better employees.”
Why? Do your current employees have a bad attitude? Do they produce poor-quality work? Do they lack motivation? Maybe the problem is the culture within your company. Perhaps people feel mistreated or taken advantage of. Maybe they aren’t properly trained. Or maybe your hiring process selects the wrong candidates to begin with. Perhaps changing the approach your company takes towards hiring and managing people is a better option.

We all think we know what we want, but until we dive into the reasons WHY we want these things, we still be stuck in a vicious cycle, doomed to repeat our mistakes and never fixing the problems we already have.