Member-only story
How Asking Why Can Help You Solve Problems
Asking questions enough times might just get you to the root cause of the problem.
As a child, I learned that you don’t talk about problems or discuss them like adults. You get mad about things, stomp around the house, and slam cupboard doors. So, it would be a surprise to me to learn that there are techniques you can use to clarify and solve problems.
The first thing is to understand what the problem is. If you just told yourself, I know what the problem is then the following might be for you.
Define the Problem
A well-defined problem is key but start with what you have. Something like,
“From January to March, I was late to work at my job with the X organization,10 of 60 times.”
At home, we might say things like:
He doesn’t pick up. This can be a presentation problem for something more serious.
He isn’t supportive of me. Could be deeper than the clothes lying everywhere.
He doesn’t care.
We aren’t doing things together.
