How and Why

Quotes, quotes, quotes... I see a lot of quotes these days. Some make sense, some are nothing more than a neat play on words. I don't get it; does a sentence have to be poetically cute to be true, and just because something sounds nice and witty, does it mean it has a profound impact on reality? Why are so many 'smart' things said in riddles anyway? I mean, take for example the proverb "Winners don't do different things, they do things differently". As I said, poetic, isn't it? But do you think the author thought really long and hard, like "hmm.. winners, they do things.. everybody does things... do they do different things? hmm... maybe not.. so what is different about them.. hmmm..." etc etc. and finally came to the logical conclusion expressed in the above quote? Or do you think it just came to their mind all of a sudden while they were thinking of something to say and then went like "hmm.. aha, yes, yes, that is true, very true, I know what it's trying to say!"
Yup, in most cases, they just think up something first, and then think up reasons as to why they said it and what it could mean. But, let's take a look at the quote again, shall we? "Winners don't do different things" ..well, of course, for any thing you could possibly do, there is somebody else in the world who does it. "they do things differently", well so do losers, being different doesn't necessarily mean it is good. So, if you go by this quote, winners and losers are one and the same? And what about entrepreneurs? They DO do different things. Of course, there are winner entrepreneurs and loser entrepreneurs as well. Basically, what I see in this quote is, if you are trying something and it doesn't work, try doing it differently... well, thanks for the big help. Quotes such as these are nothing more than ink blots, to be interpreted according to what you already know. Their poetry serves only as an idiot's memory cue, which they probably won't remember in times of need anyhow. And so we come to what I wanted to talk about - the 'How's and the 'Why's.

Why - the reason why you did something. How - the way how you are going to do something. "Why did you drink water?" - "To quench my thirst." "How did you quench your thirst?" "By drinking water." How's and why's are linguistic opposites of each-other: 'how' is the cause that seeks a way, which turns into the effect; 'why' is the effect that seeks a cause. Let's say, without questioning your morality, that you shot a dog. Well, and let's say that, not listening to me, somebody does question your morality, and asks you "Why did you shoot the dog?" You reply (since you, being a character in my little story, don't have much choice) that you did so because the dog was annoying you. You shoot first, and then you answer why later. Now let's take it the other way round - you are getting annoyed by a barking dog, you have a gun: how do you deal with the nuisance? You shoot the dog ..or you shoo it away, or you go somewhere else, or you give it a doggie treat, or any other solution, which you are free to choose from, since you are now asking how to solve the problem, not why you solved it this way or that way. Of course, when you ask why, you have choices too, but those choices are about the reason why you did it, you don't really have the option of rechoosing what to do.

Do these "reasons" sound familiar? Yup, excuses. That's where they all come from. Somebody does something not very agreeable, and you ask them why they did so. They can give you 10-20 reasons why, "It was so this that, I didn't have any blah blah, It would have yaggity yagked anyway" etc. But you're damn certain they weren't thinking through any of these reasons before they did the act; they only came up with the justification later, which doesn't make them reasons at all. If they actually had been thinking anything while carrying out the said act, they probably wouldn't have done it in the first place. But no, they have already done it, and they need an excuse or two why they did it. Or lots more excuses, actually; I am surprised how many "good reasons" they come up with - makes them almost sound like a tactical genius. But alas, if only they did the thinking before the act - if only they asked how instead of being asked why.

Keep in mind - not all 'how's are the same. "How is this possible?" "How does it work?" "How could you do this to me?" "How do birds fly?" These hows show a degree of powerlessness, and they are the same as why's. You find yourself the subject of the acts of others, or to the laws of nature, and you ask why things are how they are. Gravity - gravity keeps people firmly settled in their dear home planet. Why is there gravity? Obviously nothing to do with us humans. But why are people able to walk, stand, sit, run, hop, jump, stay on the ground? Because of gravity. Gravity is the cause - the greater power, and we can merely feel its effects. In a way of speaking, we are one of its effects. I'm sure gravity didn't come into existance for us though. Nature didn't ask "How do I create suitable conditions for humans to live?" On the contrary, life shaped itself around the framework of nature.

You are subject to the whims of nature, there is nothing you can do about it; but do not be subject to your own whims as well. You cannot change the universe, and you cannot change most other people, but you can change yourself and what you do. You can ask how do I do things in a better way, and follow through, making yourself a better person. You cannot do something first and then try hard to justify yourself, that won't change the fact about what you did and what you are like. Do not be a slave to yourself, to your own actions. You could be wrong and never know it, since you only seek to justify yourself, like a lawyer fighting for a fixed cause, no matter what you did. Debate before it's too late, don't be forced to take sides. Think of reason first, and then how to accomplish your goal; don't do something first, then reason why you did it. Ask how, not why.