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Just Do It, but WHY?

  • Writer: Pracheer Dutta
    Pracheer Dutta
  • Jun 6, 2021
  • 5 min read

Nike has this amazingly popular tagline, Just Do It. I don’t like it a lot. I don’t really, feel it. Maybe it's because I am not a sportsperson anymore (rubbing my tummy). I end up asking this question, but WHY? 99% of the people don’t think about WHY they do what they do. People often keep breathing, doing their work, eating, sleeping and existing day after day, believing that’s just life, this is how it's supposed to be.

There is this famous book called ‘The Secret’ by Rhonda Byrne. It broadly says we can get anything done if we believe we want it. I used to think this makes no sense but I will quote Jane Foster from Thor “Magic is science we do not understand”. That does not mean I believe in magic. I can’t. When a magician does magic tricks and knows the science and craft behind it well enough, he makes us experience something we call magic, as we cannot explain it. So let's get into it, can try to find the science behind ‘The Secret’ and WHY we do what we do.


Everyone gets hungry including cats and dogs. When we get hungry it's a little different than animals. I think you'll relate to thinking, what do I want to eat today? What I usually do is, maybe some of you will relate to it, I eat my lunch by 1 - 1:30 when I am not even hungry, I eat the aloo gobi and roti that was made in the morning so that I can work for the rest of the day without feeling hungry.



Animal (Instincts) vs Human (Rational thinking)

99% of the people think and do things in this way most of the time. What do I want to eat? Chinese maybe. How do I eat? Let's order it on Swiggy. And I don't think about why I wanna eat in the first place i.e. when I get hungry for real. This is how 99% of people think about their work, their careers, their business and their lives. The rest of 1% of people think differently. I learnt a concept that helps me understand their thinking. These are the 1% of people who either have done or can do wonders. It would seem that ‘The secret’ works for them.

I came across a TEDx talk by Simon Sinek. It has helped me understand how these 1% are different. He has articulated in the form that's called ‘The Golden Circle’. Instead of going from what to how and then why. They go the opposite way. They think in a way that's very natural, the way animals think. When cats and dogs get hungry, it's because their stomachs are empty. Their WHY is that they are hungry. They know HOW to find food. They sniff it out or hunt and eat WHAT they find. Humans have inverted the process during evolution.


The Golden Circle

If the marketing of a computer company would have been like this. ‘We make great computers. They are beautifully designed and user-friendly. The competition is nowhere near us. Wanna buy?’ Not many of us would be interested. Instead, it went like ‘We believe in challenging the status quo. We believe in thinking differently. We believe in products that are beautifully designed, simple to use and user-friendly. We just happen to make great computers. Wanna buy?’ This example by Simon Sinek clearly shows the impact of reversing the order of the information.

This is the natural way in which people behave. The people who believe in Apple’s why, buy their product. It's almost like a cult which is why they get pretty defensive when somebody talks badly about what they believe in. I believe in Apple’s why. I am a part of the cult. If tomorrow Apple makes a shower for my bathroom, I’ll buy it most probably. I probably won't be one of those people waiting for 10 hours in line to get it on the first day.



The Golden Circle's Relevance to the Brain

The human brain has a section that the animal’s brains do not. It's called the Neocortex. It is responsible for all languages and acquiring knowledge. Everything you need to define WHAT anything is and WHAT you want. It does not make the decision though. The decision-making is part of the Limbic system. This is the inner part of the brain which is responsible for memories and emotions. This is what we use to decide something. We understand WHAT options we have and we decide based on WHY we feel a certain way about with of the options. The Limbic system remembers HOW to work with the motor controls and knowledge in the Neocortex.

Being able to understand the role of each part of the brain, gives life to the idea of The Golden Circle. This is science trying to explain to us that it's not about knowing what you want. That is not ‘The secret’. If we know why we want something, we can get it. Our brains will figure it out. The universe will appear like it's helping you achieve it when it will be our subconscious (Limbic system) that is making it happen. All the things we have experienced in the time we have spent living have been recorded in our heads. But we cannot keep track of everything. We have a few things we can call preferences and instincts which we cannot explain rationally because we are using the experience stored in the subconscious.


The Moral of the Story

We all need to find our WHY and then figure out the rest. Simon Sinek has not only made the importance of WHY known to us, but he has a team that works on helping people find their WHYs. He has also published another book after START WITH WHY, called FIND YOUR WHY. This book is an exercise to be done with a partner, in which you go back to all the major memories you have. Most of these memories will be your key memories which are driving your personality. If anyone wishes to define their WHYs then this can be helpful.

Once the WHY has been figured out, that is articulated in a form you can repeat every day, explain with ease to yourself and others, ‘The Secret’ will be unlocked and anything is possible. I have an idea of my WHY now, but it still needs to be articulated better. Before I can unlock its true potential, I need to shape my award-winning procrastination skills into a powerful tool. This blog is going to help as I’ll be on a deadline to put one out every week. Stay tuned for more.

 
 
 

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