The 5 Whys

I enjoy a good audiobook. I find them great ways to pass the time for any drive that is longer than 15-20 minutes. And with so many that are relatively short listens, I also enjoy the extra bump on my Goodreads challenge for the year (I asked my librarian friend, she said they count as books read).

Sometimes it’s fiction, sometimes it’s self-help, and sometimes…it’s business. This week I’m listening to Feel Good Productivity by Ali Abadan. There are multiple pearls of wisdom in here pulled from all kinds of productivity studies, but the one that struck me during my morning listen was a principle pulled from Sakichi Toyoda. We all know the car line and major brand that Toyota has grown into, but what I didn’t know were the roots that some of this came from. One of Toyoda’s core goals was to eliminate errors. To do that, and to find the root of problems, he taught the 5

whys. When something goes wrong, don’t just ask Why once….ask it 5 times to get to the root of the problem.

Abdaal recommends applying this principle to anything that is getting stuck in your life. As a chronic overthinker, this sounded appealing to me. So, here we are on something I’m stuck on:

Where I’m stuck: Promoting my Comedy and Speaking endeavor

1. Why? I don’t have time & I don’t know how

2. Why? I’m not making the time

3. Why? I’m scared

4. Why? I don’t think I’m good enough

5. Why? I’m focusing on the big goal and not on the immediate task.

Obviously, there is a lot to unpack in these 5 Whys, but you’re not my therapist. You’re reading this to find out what to do about it. So…what am I going to do about it?

Well, I’m going to think about the fear: If I send out a press release advertising an open mic, what is the worst that happens? No one announces it? No one reads it? Someone announces it and no one goes…does any of that actually hurt me?

NOPE.

So, I’m going to go find a few places additional places that I can announce my event within my community. And for some reason, now it doesn’t sound so scary.

Is there something you’ve been stuck on? I challenge you to try the 5 whys and see where you land. Wish me luck - and let me know if there’s something I can do to help you with your final Why!

In laughter,

Megan