The Quality of Questions

The problem, I am starting to realize, is that I am focusing too much on answers.

I wrack my brain trying to come up with answers, and most of the times I can conjure some of them. But I’ve lived 4+ decades and there are some places where I remain stuck. It’s time concede that my approach isn’t working.

Our intellectual capability is not limitless. I think I can figure out a path by making sense of things. I believe I am good at it. But this approach’s efficacy is downright questionable. Logical problem solving is a process of eliminating wrong answers at best. You are only limited to answers you can think of.

I need to try to focus more on asking the right questions. And let answers come to me, instead of conjuring them up through thinking.

Thinking feels like one of the high-level functions. But the problem is that it can easily get out of touch with lower, more fundamental parts of our being. Like our body and our heart.

The answers it conjures up are unreliable for that reason. They are not aligned with your whole being. Many times I think I know the answer, but when I try it it ends up being wrong. I bet you can relate to that.

So I am going to try a different tactic. I will focus on finding the right question. I will keep asking them. I will tweak the words if I start feeling like the question I’m asking isn’t quite right. The goal is to find high-quality questions that represent what I’m after.

Here is the best question I currently have. I am going to write it out on a sticky note and post it on my bathroom mirror. Feel free to ask me how it’s going.

“How can I make myself an instrument to my songs, so that they can flourish and reach the people they need to reach?”