It seems like humans can only think about one thing while they are living: why? Why includes: why am I here? – why is there something instead of nothing? – and many more WHYs…
We are obsessed with WHYs. We built our knowledge thanks to many WHYs, and we are improving thanks to the answers we find.
It logically follows that asking why is a “nice-to-have” skill from an evolutionary perspective. Asking why will lead us to understand a phenomenon, and if you understand it, you can exploit it.
There is a flaw, though: some questions may remain without an answer. And we don’t like this.
We try to artificially invent some of these responses. We give meaning where there is no meaning. Why is that wrong?
- we oversimplify
- we get defensive
- we build on false assumptions
pause.
We can try to become more vigilant over our thoughts. Symptoms of asking the wrong WHYs in your life include:
- you overthink a WHY without finding or coming closer to an answer
- you give yourself answers, but you don’t have enough data on the subject and you’re not actively looking for it
- the answer depends more on external forces you cannot control than on yourself
Be mindful of your beliefs. Pay attention to the answers you find, and even more to the questions you ask. Be open to changing your mind and ready to learn from everyone, but don’t believe everything.