“Why Not?”

Two little words, big influence. My Aunt first introduced me to this philosophy (her philosophy) while “backpacking” or rather ‘purse-packing’ through Europe in 2006. Nearly every predicament, possibility and opportunity that crossed our paths, if phrased as a question, was responded to with “why not?” This encouraging world view was quite astonishing, simple and clever. “Shall we detour and take the Euro Star train for an impromptu trip to the Netherlands?” “Why not?” “Shall we have some gelato in Italy?” “Why not?” So on and so forth, you get the idea.

The more and more I asked myself this question, “why not?,” when considering the pros/cons of various avenues, the more and more I struggled coming up with valid arguments for refraining. As adults, we are trained to be cautious and conservative in both our professional and personal lives. What if, we lived each day as if it were our last and opted in instead of out, a little more often?

The next time life throws something your unexpected your way, ask yourself “why not?”

Cinematic example (while extreme, still good): “Yes Man,”

Why Not Express and Realize Your Dreams

Related

• Why Wait For Adversity?
• A Wish Come True for Fourteen
• Why Not

Update on Wednesday, August 3, 2011 at 9:07AM by Admin

Some men see things as they are and say why - I dream things that never were and say why not. by George Bernard Shaw.

Barry Nalebuff shares the insights from his book Why Not? How to Use Everyday Ingenuity to Solve Problems Big and Small.