Questions Propel, Statements Retard

Whatever the situation, QUESTIONS propel, STATEMENTS retard.

If you are thinking about something, you will make better progress toward your conclusions by asking questions of yourself rather than telling yourself what to do.

The same is true of other people. It is questions that engage people and compel their attention. Questions provoke movement. Statements recycle thinking to a status quo.

Not just any question will do.

The more education you have been subjected to, the more likely you will provide an answer rather than ask a question. “Education” is about accumulated answers, about “knowledge.” It is not about figuring out what questions ought to be asked to get richer and more pertinent answers.

What people happen to know is only obliquely related to any present circumstance. Having an answer for everything is a form of egoism.

It may make you appear to be smart. But it will ultimately prove you dumb.

The lesson: Learn how to ask just the right next question – first of yourself, then of others. It takes more practice than becoming a concert pianist. It is that much more difficult to learn. It is also that much more rewarding.

So what is the best question you could ask of yourself at this point?

-Lee Thayer, Thought-Leader