We all seem to want answers. And when we want answers we typically ask questions. This is pretty great, and has served us well for the better part of however long humans have existed. Questions are the lifeblood of learning, and without them progress and advancement nearly disappear. Without them we tend not to get answers, or the answers don’t make any sense. Sometimes the answers come before the questions. Sometimes knowing the questions is just as important as knowing the answer (What is Jeopardy?).
No matter our position in life, questions seem to come naturally to us. Many jobs consist of asking questions (can I take your order?). Children are question machines. Every scientific discovery generally begins with a question. We create and develop friendships and relationships in large part by asking and answering questions. We are an inquisitive people, with good reason: questions are a vital part of life.
Most people seem to understand this concept. What fewer people seem to understand (or apply), is the concept of question quality. Asking questions is important, but asking good questions is even more so.
What constitutes a good question may depend on the context of course, and a good question in one situation can be a terrible question in another. Some questions, however, are chronically low-quality, especially those involved in some basic social interactions: “What’s up?” “How’s life?” “What’s crack-a-lackin?” These kinds of low-quality questions have been ingrained into our collective social consciousness, losing nearly all meaning as actual questions. The answers they receive are therefore equally meaningless (“Fine,” “Good,” “Nothin”), so these questions almost aren’t even worth asking (Almost. They do still fulfill some important social requirements in certain situations).
Good questions, on the other hand, make us think in new ways, or make us think at all. They challenge preconceptions and assumptions, and open up new avenues of dialogue and discussion. I’m not an expert on good questions, and I don’t always know how or when to ask better questions, but I do think we could all benefit from trying to ask better questions in most situations. Tim Ferriss has an excellent view on this, and spoke much more eloquently than I:
Life punishes the vague wish and rewards the specific ask. After all, conscious thinking is largely asking and answering questions in your own head. If you want confusion and heartache, ask vague questions. If you want uncommon clarity and results, ask uncommonly clear questions.
“Tribe of Mentors”
Often all that stands between us and what we want is a better set of questions.
As I said before, I’m not an expert on asking good questions, and I struggle with this concept in my own life, but I think Tim Ferriss is right. It pays to examine the questions we ask. Sometimes we need to question our questions: why are we even asking? How can we improve the question? Do we actually need to know the answer right now? This applies broadly in life: in religion, education, relationships, work, economics, and the list goes on. So if you feel you’re not getting the answers you want (or any answers at all), take a step back and look at the questions you’re asking.
According to my Kyleculations 