The question should be, is it worth trying to do, not can it be done. — Allard K. Lowenstein

The question should be, is it worth trying to do, not can it be done.

Author: Allard K. Lowenstein

Insight: We're surrounded by people asking whether something is possible before they ask whether it matters. Someone pitches a business idea and the first instinct is to problem-solve the logistics—can we build it, automate it, scale it? But the harder question comes later, usually too late: should we? This quote flips that priority in a way that feels almost radical in our efficiency-obsessed world. The real cost of asking "can it be done?" first is that you can talk yourself into almost anything. Yes, you can reorganize your entire schedule to please everyone. Yes, you can stay in that job for another five years. Yes, you can chase that goal someone else set for you. But none of that means you should. The worthiness question is the one that requires actual judgment—not just capability, but purpose. What makes this especially relevant now is how easy it's become to do things that don't matter. We have tools to do almost anything instantly, which means the friction that used to protect us from bad decisions is gone. That friction sometimes kept us honest. Now we need to be deliberate instead, which takes more courage than just executing a plan. Asking if something's worth doing means admitting that not every possible path is worth taking, and that takes real thought.