The 5 Whys

A few months back I took a class through my employer on Trust Building.  It was an interesting way to spend a couple hours of my day, and there were some really insightful thoughts brought up throughout the class.  One thing that really resonated with my was...

The 5 Whys

 

In the class, we were instructed to ask ourselves "Why?" 5 times before doing something, especially something not so smart.

 

An example:

 

This weekend I am going to drink a bottle of wine, call up an old boss of mine and tell her what I really thought of her.

 

Why?

Well, she was a total biatch!

 

Why?

She deserves it!

 

Why?

Maybe she will become a better boss because of it.

 

Why?

It will make me feel better!

 

Why?

Well, I'm all out of answers.

 

By the time you get to Why #5, you're usually out of good reasons to do or say what you were thinking of doing in the first place. 

 

Other times the 5 Whys might come in handy: thinking of calling your ex, going out drinking when you haven't eaten dinner, telling your Mother in Law what you really think of her, wearing 5-inch stilletos to a baseball game - the list really goes on and on.

 

So next time, before doing something ridiculous, ask yourself the 5 Whys and you might just save yourself some embarassment!