Take the attitude of a student, never too big to ask questions, never know too much to learn something new – Og Mandino.
Dare to Ask
The right questions always take conversations deeper and pull out what wasn’t available without the question. A question like, “Do you need some help?” can create a path to serve someone and create a lasting memory. If you can ask the right people the right questions, you will stand out in a crowd. For example, if you ask your supervisor or manager, “Is there anything else you would like me to do?” or if they are not threatened by your desire to learn, “Could you show me how to _____,” which may be something out of your job description. They are daring questions because they make us vulnerable to another person’s response. They also put us in a position to learn and grow. On the other side of the dare is the land of the extraordinary, where those satisfied with remaining the same cannot reach. What is the question you must ask to intentionally put yourself on the path to raising the bar?
Benefits to Questions
The older I get, the more I learn that quality decisions are found on the other side of better questions. Questions are often the basis for effective learning and discoveries in life. While most people focus on gathering more information, long-lasting growth is less attributed to information gathering and more to asking good questions. Michael Hyatt said it best: “Asking questions is the best way to grow as a human being.” Questions are not for self-criticism but for self-reflection to improve our quality of life. Consider these benefits of asking questions:
1. Questions immerse you in an oasis of what could be possible. By asking questions, you expand your thinking horizons and bring into view what was not previously accessible.
2. Questions provide space to make adjustments and overcome underlying assumptions that form due to bias. In this way, questions help improve our perspective or the lens through which we see life. Your capacity to grow increases based on your ability to ask questions continuously.
3. Questions keep you from stagnant thinking, which eventually becomes stinking thinking. Curiosity is a mind-vitality exercise that will keep you vibrant, adaptable, and mentally fit.
Questions are not for self-criticism but for self-reflection to improve our quality of life.
Clearing Your Blind and Deaf Spots
In his book, Good Leaders Ask Great Questions, John Maxwell says, “Asking questions is a great way of preventing mental laziness and moving ourselves out of ruts.” Questions help to clear our blind and deaf spots, areas where we lack awareness. I compare blind and deaf spots to bugs in a system, which, if not patched with updates, create vulnerabilities and damage. Similarly, questions help us to update our perspective, without which it would be detrimental to our lives. Questions provide the ability to recognize these spots, reflect on how a lack of their awareness impacts our lives, and respond with the choice to grow or remain the same. Questions provide us with different and new lenses to see our environment and people. Questions have helped me see things from other people’s perspectives and not judge them based on my limited perspective.
Final Thought: Without questions, we miss opportunities to elevate our quality of thinking and living. As hard as it may be to accept, we all have blind and deaf spots. Knowing they are there isn’t enough. We must take the next step to overcome them through questions, which will help us raise the bar in our lives.
Keep on keeping on
Discover Your Treasure 