The ‘Hows’ You Have Less Control Over

For any given ‘what’ that you want to accomplish there are often tens or hundreds of ‘hows’ that might be viable. ‘Hows’ are numerous and frequently unpredictable for several reasons:

• They often require that others besides yourself get involved in their execution. Often others must be invited or convinced to support your progress and these others may come with their own objectives and agendas.
• One step down a given ‘how’ path often influences or helps reveal the next. Planned paths, more often than not, mutate and evolve.
• ‘Hows’ usually involve a process that occurs over time, allowing countless unknown or unanticipated factors to intervene and affect your progress.

In short – the exact steps for ‘how’ you accomplish a given goal are frequently hazy and unpredictable, especially at the beginning. The ultimate path you take to your goal often involves setting out in a direction, collecting feedback, and then learning and adjusting as you go. To be able to identify clearly ‘what’ you want, and even to start on the path towards achieving what you want, it is not required that you completely understand or see all of the steps of the ‘how’ in advance.

The Bottom Line

A good ‘what’ question deserves an honest inquiry and a direct answer uncontaminated by considerations of the ‘how.’ ‘How’ is an equally valuable question, but it is a separate and second question, not to be confused with consideration of the ‘what.’ Be alert for occasions where you are not responding to the important ‘what’ questions in your life but rather to the invoked ‘hows’ you hear ringing in your head. ‘Hows’ are important, but they can get in your way if you allow them to shut down your thought process. It is amazing how a simple three-letter word like ‘how’ can stop you cold.

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