5 whys
Babies and young children are like the research and development division of the human species. ―Alison Gopnik, The Philosophical Baby: What Children’s Minds Tell Us About Truth, Love, and the Meaning of Life
👥 Serves: 1 person
🎚 Difficulty: Easy
⏳ Total time: 31-60 minutes
🥣 Ingredients: Paper and pen, a child willing to ask “why?” without mercy (optional)
🤓 Wholebeing Domains: Awareness, Discomfortability, Liberatory Learning
💪 Wholebeing Skills: Agency, Challenging, Clarity, Curiosity, Flexibility, Inquiry, Liberation, Non-judgement, Reflection
5 whys
📝 Description
Five “whys” to rewrite a belief.
Children are the best philosophers out there. Not because they have studied any Socrates or Confucius, but because they ask the most radical question of all: Why? And why? But why?
As adults, we are constantly fed “truths”, by politicians, media, gurus, and algorithms. In this context, pausing to ask questions and challenge these “truths” becomes a revolutionary act. Digging deeper than the surface level, challenging your biases and assumptions can be a source of profound freedom.
By training the muscle of doubt, you open yourself up to the possibility of dismantling long-held beliefs and of changing course. The following activity helps you surface your beliefs and decide, consciously, whether to keep or change them.
This recipe has been kindly donated by Alice Siracusano of Nati Per Cambiare.
🌟 Steps
Step 1 – Choose your belief (5’)
Take your paper and pen and write down a belief you hold about yourself or the world. For example,
- “Others are better than me.”
- “I’m not cut out for public speaking.”
- “I can’t change at this age.”
- “If I make a mistake, others will judge me.”
Step 2 – The five whys (30’)
Now ask yourself: Why? Write the answer, then ask again: Why? Continue like this for a total of five times. Each answer becomes the foundation for the next why. For example,
- Belief: I believe others are better than me.
- Why 1: Because they are more successful.
- Why 2: Because they have more visibility.
- Why 3: Because they have more recognition.
- Why 4: Because they expose themselves more.
- Why 5: Because I avoid exploding myself due to fear of judgement.
Take notice of what happened. The initial answer was not an absolute truth. By digging deeper, it was linked to a behaviour. And the behaviour was linked to fear. If helpful, check out step 2 in our recipe “10 categories of fear” for a list of the top 10 fears we share as humans.
NOTE: If you do this exercise with a child, let them be the one to ask “Why”. Answer without long explanations, without defences. The child is not looking for the “right” answer. They are looking for meaning.
Step 3 – Reflection (10’)
Read through your answers and ask yourself:
- What has changed in my perception of the original belief?
- Is this belief really true?
- When was it constructed?
- When it is not true?
- If it isn’t true, how could I behave differently?