What, Where, When, Why and The Who

The Five W’s, sometimes referred to as The Five W’s and How, or 5W1H, are questions and/or inqueries whose answers are considered fundamental when it comes to information gathering or problem solving.

They’re often used in journalism, research, police investigations, as well as in Personal Development as problem solving pronouns to aid in the evaluation and better understanding of a certain event, subject or situation.

That said, you may have noticed that in the title of this post I’ve listed the Five W’s out of their customary Who, What, When, Where, and Why sequence.

You might also have spotted the fact that the Sixth W, aka the 1H, appears to be absent altogether.

I say “appears” because although it certainly looks that way, it’s not at all the case, because in this case, the The Who is the How.

“WHAT?!”

Perfect. Let’s begin there shall we?

So, what is it that excites you?

What are you curious about?

What are you good at? What would you like to be better at?

What is it you’d like to achieve?

What if anything do you regret not doing? And if given a do-over would commit to fully?

What? What? What?

 

Next is Where, which particularly in Personal Development, begs the question, “Where might you see yourself in six months, a year, or even five years?”

And while this kind of forward thinking can prove useful, wouldn’t the more relevant question be, “Where do you need to focus your attention today?”

Or, “Where do you need to concentrate your efforts today?”

Peering down the road is one thing, just keep in mind that pullin’ up your boot straps and actually marching down that road is an entirely different matter.

 

When, although applicable, I’d argue lends itself better to journalism and criminal investigative work than to Personal Development.

For example, “When exactly did this take place?”

Or, “When was this caper committed?”

No doubt important stuff in regards to fact-finding, but in the case of Personal Development, i.e., when it comes to your everyday hopes and dreams, it’s not so much when something happens, or for that matter, when you make something happen. It’s simply about makin’ damn sure it does, and clearly, the best time to make that happen…is now.

Hmm, maybe instead of What, Where and When, it should be What, Here and Now.

 

Why.

It was Robert F. Kennedy who famously said,

A beautiful sentiment indeed, however I happen to be partial to this equally profound interpretation by George Carlin, who said,

The point is whereas asking why can oftentimes prove deeply insightful, it’s of absolutely no use in the sense that you don’t necessarily need to know why you’re doing something in order to get it done.

Just sayin’.

And that brings us to the How, err, The Who.

But before we go on, I’d just like to say that when it comes to “reaching your goals” and/or “realizing your dreams” I genuinely don’t feel it’s my place to tell you how to go about doing so, in large part, because I’m still learning myself.

Secondly, contrary to what the so called experts have to say about it, I don’t think there’s a whole lot to say about it.

All the same, if for like so many of us there is something you personally wish to make good on, then here’s my take on what it takes:

Not so long ago I was driving home from work when this song came on the radio, and frankly I’d probably heard this song a thousand times over the years. Yet on this particular occasion for some unexplained reason a line in the chorus jumped out and curiously caught my ear.

It was a song originally written in 1963 by a Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend and featured on a 1971 album entitled Who’s Next.

The song? Won’t Get Fooled Again.

The band? The Who.

The potentially life-changing line? “I pick up my guitar and play, just like yesterday.”

And there you have it. There you have everything, or what I consider is at the very least the most important thing, you’ll ever need to make those hopes and dreams of yours flower and flourish.

See ya next time, till then, keeep it up.