What’s a ‘why’?
Put simply, your ‘why’ is your motivation to quit. It’s why you’re here, putting in the time and effort to change your life and go smoke free for good. Knowing your ‘why’ can help motivate you and even keep you on track when you hit hard times.
Motivations like, ‘I want to feel fitter so I can play with the grandkids’ or ‘I want to breathe easier and stop coughing so much’ are great but it’s likely there’s more going on under the surface and we can use the 5 whys technique to really find out what’s motivating us.
The 5 whys technique
It’s a technique developed by the founder of Toyota industries in the 1930’s as a problem-solving tool. It’s now used across the globe in all sorts of ways to help bring sharper focus and more clarity to an issue.
Here’s an example of how one smoker we helped put the technique into action. You can see how the questions and answers helped them find their ‘why’.
- I want to stop smoking. WHY do you want to stop smoking?
- I want to feel fitter. WHY do you want to feel fitter?
- I want to be less out of breath when being active. WHY do you want to be less out of breath?
- I want being active to feel easier. WHY do you want being active to feel easier?
- I want to be able to play with my grandkids. WHY do you want to be able to play with your grandkids?
Because I want to enjoy life to the full.
After asking WHY 5 times, you can see how they really got to the crux of why they want to stop smoking. More than just to feel fitter, they want to enjoy life without any limits.
The 5 whys technique can really help you understand your true values and underlying wants and needs. You’ll also be much more likely to make long term change if you truly understand why you’re doing it and can remind yourself of this when things are feeling tough.
What are your 5 whys?
