The 7 Why? Uncover the Root Cause

Our self-discovery is a long journey of trials and error. I remember when we were kids. Our curiosity to discover the world around us was a bit annoying to our parents. We wanted to understand the reasons behind everything! Why the sky is blue? Why the flower dies? As we get older, we start losing our drive and settling for the first answer we receive. With time, life starts to shape us and we start losing track of who we are, what we want and why we are doing the things that we are doing. It would be amazing from time to time to reawaken that little kid in us and dive deep into our emotions so we can understand the root cause behind our actions. For this, the 7 why technique might come in handy.

Origin

This simple technique was invented years ago. It is mostly known as the 5 whys. The 5 whys were created in 1930 by Sakichi Toyoda, the founder of the Toyota industry. The aim of this technique is to find the root cause of a problem by repeating the why question several times. Toyoda used that method to solve business problems. In their book, Made to Stick, Chip and Dan Heath talk about the 3 whys as a way to find the emotional core of an idea. Now, how many why do we ask 3,5, or 7? It doesn’t matter!! The purpose is to keep asking why until we find the root cause.

Example

Why do you want to write a blog? to share my ideas and learn from others

Why do you want to share your ideas? because they might help someone

Why do you want to help people? because life is hard and no one can succeed alone.

Why do you want people to succeed? Because everyone deserves to live life to the fullest and be happy

Why it is important that people live life to the fullest? because we live one life and we should make the maximum of it

Why do you want to make the maximum out of life? because when we die. It is better not to die with regret. When we look back on our life, it would be nice to remember it with a smile.

Finding the Root Cause

Finding the root cause of a problem is not a simple task. Some of us are relentless to find it and others stop before reaching it. It is important when we are trying to find answers and learn more about ourselves to be patient, and transparent. The truth doesn’t lie on the surface. The root cause might be completely unrelated to our first why. We need to be prepared to dive deep and accept the answers even if they don’t fit our liking. That’s how we learn. The first step to growth is awareness. This method will help us to understand ourselves and reorient our lives toward our purpose.