Why; you can't work or live without it.

We are born with “Why” and it is a thread that connects us throughout time. 

Dr. Rebecca Palacioswrites:

“Our children’s first experiences in asking and answering “why” questions in their quest to understand the world they live in are the building blocks of deep thinking and will help prepare them for the future….Even as adults, we question the “why” of many things not in our control.”

Why is an important word/question that we use to make sense of our world. As it is part of every stage of our lives, we can monitor its course or pattern.

"Even from really early on when they start asking these how and why questions, they are asking them in order to get explanations," lead researcher Brandy Frazier of the University of Michigan told LiveScience.

When explanations came their way, the little ones probed further, they found. "Kids are playing more of an active role in learning about the world around them than we may have expected," Frazier said."

Novelty is a crucial element in attention and focus. Now there is evidence that it plays a crucial part in thinking better. Or, in other words, there is evidence that our comfort zone is not a good place to think. 

Moshe Bar writes:

"[E]xperiments suggest that the mind’s natural tendency is to explore and to favor novelty, but when occupied it looks for the most familiar and inevitably least interesting solution."

As a big fan of questions in general and in the “why” question in particular, I was very excited when @Ali Anani posted his slideshare, Fractal thoughts on management, and I found his slides on fractal whys.

Using an example problem to solve, Dr. Ali suggests:

He then expands on the use of the fractal whys by providing the following insight:

And then inverts the process in this way:

I have written in the past that all animals can respond to the questions:

• What (identifying/recognizing) – was that sound?
• Where (direction/location) – do I go for shelter?
• When (time) – I have to go find a mate.
• Who (other) – do I choose to fight?
• Which (selection) – is my pack?
• How (action) – will my cub get food?

Only humans ask Why – from infancy to our last breath.

To put why in its proper fractal place makes all the sense. CALL TO ACTION: start with the question why and take it with you through every stage of your work and life. Then sit back and enjoy the success fractal you created.

Image credit: www.freepik.es