Lil Petey and the Power of Why

My son loves the Dogman books and we have gone through many as part of our bedtime ritual.  Lil Petey is Petey the Cat’s son and likes to ask “WHY?” over and over and over (and over) again which drives his Dad absolutely mad.  So naturally, when I would come across those lines in the book, I would make sure I used my most annoying “Why???”  voice.  It would elicit strings of giggles from my son, making it so worth it!

Well now there’s a Dogman movie and of course we had to go see it in the theater.  Much to my amazement,  I really enjoyed the movie and recognized several scenes, taken straight from the book.  I even remembered how the Dogman character came to be.  Super proud moment for this Mama. 

One of the scenes was the infamous “Why” dialogue between Lil Petey and his Dad.   I was shocked to find that Lil Petey’s voice in the movie produced a very inquisitive, curious (and dare I say cute?!) “why”.  It was not the annoying voice that I used when reading to my son at bedtime.  And it reminded me of one of the most important steps in becoming self-aware. 

Always ask why.  Question everything.  Question why you’re doing what you’re doing.  Doing things a certain way for a long time doesn’t automatically make it rational.  Are you doing it because you intentionally want to do it?  Or are you doing it because that’s what you’ve always been doing and never thought about it? The path to change involves breaking old patterns by questioning them and only keeping them if it truly serves you and your life is some positive/constructive way.  If you don’t ask why, then you may never know if that’s truly what you want.  Asking why will take you out of routine, mindless cycles and force you to be present and in the moment.  It will help you to be intentional about what you choose to believe. 

In Emergency Medicine, how many times have we done something a particular way because that’s just how we learned to do it?  And how many of those ideas were later debunked and retired into the “myth” hall of fame?

Reminds me of a lighthearted but powerful story out there.  I wanted to give proper credit, but couldn’t find the true origin of the story.  It’s impact is timeless and priceless so here is my adaptation of the story.  A woman made pot roast for dinner and her friend asked for the recipe.  When she read over it, she asked why the recipe states to cut both ends off the roast before placing it in the pan.  The woman said she cut the ends off because that’s how her mother always prepared pot roast.  The young woman then asked her mother who replied that that’s how her mother always made it.  Both the young woman and her mother asked the grandmother who said she would cut off the ends because the roast was always bigger than the pan she had so she had to find a way to make it fit. 

What are some things you do reflexively just because that’s the way you initially learned to do it?  Is it serving you in a positive way to continue doing it that way?  I challenge you to get curious.  You may be surprised by what you uncover. 

Priya