I ran into the “Five Whys” technique in Anne-Laure Le Cunff's 5 thinking tools to add to your metacognitive toolbox.

Yes, I'm aware that the article says 5 thinking tools, but I only wanted to focus on just one — the “Five Whys” technique.

The “Five Whys” is a technique you can use to find an answer or a root cause, to a problem, a question, a desire or a perceived need.

^ Note that this is not how Anne-Laure Le Cunff described it in her post, but this is my own take on how and when to use it.

Has there been something you really wanted or wanted to do, but could not explain why you wanted it? If your answer is yes, then this is the thinking tool for you.