Idea 11: A forward-looking attitude

A man of hope and forward-looking mind Even to the last!

William Wordsworth, ‘The Excursion’

There are in fact two basic ways of answering the question why in the context of the work you do – one backward looking and one forward looking.

The former is modeled on the cause-and-effect relationship.

Q: ‘Why are you doing what you are doing (effect)?’

A: ‘Because (cause) that is how I was told to do it when I joined the profession ten years ago.’

Such a person is like a passenger on a train traveling with his back to the engine and looking out of the window as the past flashes away behind him.

The alternative way of answering the why question is signalled by the phrase in order to.

Q: ‘Why are you tackling this ...

Get John Adair's 100 Greatest Ideas for Personal Success now with the O’Reilly learning platform.

O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.