Welcome Why Team member!

6/18/2015

As part of the WHY team, we will ask a lot of WHY questions. The following WHY questions may be the most important of them all. I hope you will find this enlightening... welcome!

Why is the question why powerful?
Because it challenges the status quo of habitual what and how thinking. To be outstanding, one must stand out from the crowd. Standing out in behavior of course will require that you stand out in your thinking. Make no mistake, we are herd creatures wired to think like the herd. And while being in relationship and community with others is what we are born to do, finding the best within us is a must if we are to live a fulfilling life.

Why must we think differently from the herd?
To find our unique gift for the herd. Going from good to great takes time. Early in life, we can find ourselves comparing more than sharing, focused more on competitively getting than creatively giving. This "what to do", "how to do" thinking is most herd like, and we can get very good at it. But it seems that a truly abundant life requires discovering our unique wealth within, which best addresses feelings of scarcity without. Instead of what and how, we begin to ask why. Why questions can help shine light into the darkness of our habitual what and how thinking.

Wordsworth said, "Habits Rule the Unreflecting Herd". Note that he defines the herd as unreflecting. Habitual what and how thinking keeps us herd like, which begs the question, do we rule our lives or do our habits rule our lives? All habits of behavior emanate from habits of thought. Empowering habits are empowering, limiting habits limiting. Taking time to reflect is a must if we are to find the best within us. Finding our unique gifts, focused more on creating than competing, we are then empowered to give our gifts back to the collective. Ghandi said, "Be the change you want to see in the world." The way up is apparently down. Down into our psyche, asking why and discovering our gifts meant for the world. Your true treasure is found within you and life is best lived when you give it away. You are the gift others need most.

Make it a great week,

Steve Luckenbach

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