Have you ever had an experience of “Why didn’t I think of that before?” You’re struggling to solve a problem and suddenly you stumble into the obvious answer. You say, “How did this not occur to me?”
Often, when you’re stuck and you can’t think of the right answer, it’s because you’ve skipped a step. You need to work first on asking the right kind of question.
We all want answers.
They do exist. But before we can understand them, we must learn to give more value to the questions.
Questions are powerful because they keep our eyes open. They keep us searching. The quality of one’s questions makes all the difference between dullness and insight.
I want to show you a powerful question.
This is a question generator, a way of discovering better questions. It goes like this:
“What questions have I not thought to ask?”
Turn this one question into a habit and it will serve you greatly. It reveals blind spots and broadens your horizon of thought.
Here’s how I’ve been using the question lately:
Having worked hard to discover and refine my own ideology, I’m trying to propel my ideas into wider discussion. I know what I believe about Scripture, philosophy, and Christian life; now I want to help others discover it. So I’ve been asking how to change the world.
But the future is a blank page.
I don’t know of any strategy-guide for how to change a culture. I need a plan, and I need to invent it.
Here’s my plan so far:
- Set up a blog and promote it.
- Write articles.
Then…
- Ask questions.
Tons of questions. I ask everything I can about how the blog is going and whether it is accomplishing my goals. By doing, I learn how to do. As I reflect, my questions lead me to the next step. And the most powerful one is:
“What questions have I not thought to ask?”
What are your favorite questions as you seek to improve your life and work?
Please tell me in the comments below. I would love to learn from you.