Inspiration and life
Your Life Depends on Your Questions
How questions can change your life
Have you ever noticed how a young child can ask question after question after question? They will ask so many questions it can get on your nerves. From where does this barrage of questions come? It is from an inborn, natural desire for learning and curiosity that exists in most children. Unfortunately, much of this curiosity is lost as we age.
“The master key of knowledge is, indeed, persistent and frequent questioning.” Peter Abelard (1079–1142)
Keep asking questions
Do you realize one of the worst things a parent or anyone else can do is squelch a child’s ability to ask questions? It is good for a child to be curious. And the more curious they are, the better it will be for them. It is a sign of the child’s intelligence, so why would anyone want to suppress it? Yet many do to the child’s detriment.
“Everything we know has its origins in questions. Questions, we might say, are the principal intellectual instruments available to human beings.” Neil Postman (1931–2003)
We must be open to allowing all children to remain curious as long as possible. Curious children achieve more in life. We need more kids like this coming into society.
The best advice I have heard when it comes to a child asking questions is to help them develop their answers or learn to find them. Doing so will enhance their intelligence even further.
“The only way to learn new things is to ask questions and be curious. Find the people who inspire your curiosity because those are the ones you will learn from the most.” James Altucher (1968-present)
Why not become one who inspires curiosity in others? You can do this by asking thoughtful questions that require them to think. The more powerful the questions you ask, the more powerful the results will be. To learn more about how to ask powerful questions, check out this article: An Important Skill You Need Now.
Our lives depend on questions
Think about it for a moment. It is because of the questions you have asked of yourself and others in the past that you are what you are today. My life, your life, and every life, in its current state, is a reflection of the questions asked. Or failed to ask.
Your questions and curiosity take you to where you will be tomorrow. Where do you want to wind up? To find out, ask yourself, “What questions am I asking myself today?” and “Are they powerful enough?” Questions, or the lack of them, will determine the future course of your life.
Are you curious about your future? Have you ever asked yourself questions about it? If not, perhaps you should. It’s your future, after all. If you never ask the right questions, where will you wind up?
“At the end of the day, the questions we ask of ourselves determine the type of people that we will become.” Leo Babauta (1973-present)
How questions can change your life
Entering my retirement years, I have asked plenty of questions, as I have throughout my life. One of my primary questions in recent years has been, will my wife and I have enough money to last us to the projected end of our lives? This question spawns many other inquiries, such as wanting to know:
- How long we should plan for, which means we need to estimate how long we may live.
- The availability, quality, and cost of medical care nearby.
- How much our expenses will be, and how comfortable can we live.
- How much we can we afford to spend on travel and vacations.
- How future taxes could affect our financial situation.
- What will remain of our possessions requiring a will.
Without asking these and many more questions, we could retire unprepared. That is no way to enter your retirement years.
It would help if you asked yourself questions about the larger and more essential things in life. If you do not, you are going through life without planning. How will you know if you are making the right decisions? Do you really want to live life like that?
“If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail!” Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790)
Where can you begin to ask questions about your life? How about starting with your career, marriage, kids, schools, savings, and investments? What about your next home, where you live now, and where you may live in the future?
“Our lives are shaped by the questions we ask. Good questions lead to good outcomes. Bad questions lead to bad outcomes.” Michael Hyatt (1955-present)
In what area of life should you be asking questions. Why not give it some thought? Your answers may surprise you!
Final thoughts
Do you care about your life, who you are, and who you are becoming? If so, get curious and start asking yourself questions. It is your responsibility and your life. You choose how you live it. No one else can live it for you, and no one else can make you do anything you don’t want to do.
“To become a better you, keep asking curious questions about yourself.” Israelmore Ayivor (1989-present)
Yet your life is not just about you, is it? It is about all of those with which you are in a relationship. All those you care about and those who care about you. If you don’t ask questions of yourself, at least consider doing it for them.
One final word — remember you create your future by the questions you ask or do not ask. The resulting actions from these questions control your destiny.
I leave you with some final words of wisdom that pose three important questions for your life.
“Life is as simple as these three questions: What do I want? Why do I want it? And, how will I achieve it?” Shannon L. Alder (1969-present)
What awaits you in your future?
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Bill Abbate Leadership Writer and Editor in ILLUMINATION
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