LIFE DEMANDS THAT YOU ASK QUESTIONS

THE ANSWERS ARE WAITING FOR THE ASKER

If I had to do it all over again…

I would ask more questions.

Not because I lacked intelligence.

Not because I lacked effort.

But because so much of life is hidden behind a question waiting to be asked.

LIFE DEMANDS THAT YOU ASK QUESTIONS

THE ANSWERS ARE WAITING FOR THE ASKER

If I had to do it all over again, there is one thing I would change.

Just one.

I would ask more questions.

That’s right.

Not work harder.

Not make more money.

Not buy different things.

Not move to a different city.

I would simply ask more questions.

Looking back, that one habit alone would have improved the quality of my life beyond measure.

WANTING TO KNOW THINGS IS GOOD

We enter this world naturally curious.

A child does not need to be taught to ask questions.

It comes standard with the package.

Why?

How?

What is that?

Where did it come from?

How does it work?

Children are relentless seekers of knowledge.

They investigate everything.

Touch everything.

Question everything.

Wonder about everything.

It is one of the purest forms of learning.

QUESTIONS ARE THE ORIGINAL SEARCH ENGINE

Long before computers, smart phones, and internet searches, there were questions.

Questions built civilizations.

Questions discovered medicine.

Questions crossed oceans.

Questions put men on the moon.

Questions created inventions.

Questions solved problems.

Questions improved lives.

Every advancement known to mankind started with someone asking:

Why?

How?

What if?

WHY DO WE STOP ASKING?

Somewhere along the way, many people become discouraged from asking.

Parents become tired.

Teachers become busy.

Employers become impatient.

Authority figures become uncomfortable.

Before long, we begin hearing:

Because I said so.

Stop asking.

Just do it.

Don’t question it.

Get in line.

Stay quiet.

Unfortunately, curiosity often becomes a casualty.

The questions don’t disappear.

People simply stop asking them out loud.

THE COST OF NOT ASKING

Many mistakes in life come from assumptions.

Assumptions in business.

Assumptions in relationships.

Assumptions in parenting.

Assumptions in marriage.

Assumptions in faith.

Assumptions in finances.

As I wrote in another Pearls reflection:

“Assume nothing. Question everything.”

The cost of asking a question is usually small.

The cost of not asking can be enormous.

A question may save years of confusion.

A question may save thousands of dollars.

A question may save a relationship.

A question may change a life.

HOW AND WHY

If I could hand every child two gifts, they would be these words:

HOW

and

WHY

Those two questions alone have changed the world.

How does it work?

Why is it done this way?

How can it be improved?

Why does this matter?

How can I help?

Why do I believe what I believe?

These questions lead people toward understanding instead of assumption.

THE COURAGE TO ASK

Not all questions are easy.

Some challenge authority.

Some challenge tradition.

Some challenge our own thinking.

Some challenge our comfort zones.

That is why asking questions requires courage.

The truth has never feared inquiry.

Only error fears examination.

The more solid the foundation, the less afraid it is of being questioned.

SEEK TO KNOW

One of the greatest lessons I have learned is that it is perfectly acceptable to not know something.

There is no shame in ignorance.

The shame is remaining ignorant when answers are available.

Seek facts.

Seek understanding.

Seek wisdom.

Seek perspective.

Seek truth.

And when truth is not immediately available, remain curious instead of judgmental.

The mature person is comfortable saying:

“I don’t know.”

And then immediately asking:

“Can you help me understand?”

PEARLS TO PONDER

Throughout the Pearls Series, one theme continually appears:

The seeker is rewarded.

Ask and you learn.

Seek and you find.

Knock and doors open.

“The purpose of life is to discover the purpose of life.”

“Common sense is often the first thing to enter the room and the last thing people listen to.”

“Assume nothing. Question everything.”

“The greatest treasure you will ever discover is another human being.”

And perhaps my favorite Pearl for this subject:

“The answers are usually hiding behind the questions we were afraid to ask.”

BUILDING CONFIDENCE IN CHILDREN

Want to build confidence in a child?

Encourage questions.

Want to reduce feelings of unworthiness?

Encourage questions.

Want to develop leadership?

Encourage questions.

Want to promote innovation?

Encourage questions.

Want to create independent thinkers?

Encourage questions.

Teach children that questions are not interruptions.

Questions are pathways.

Questions are tools.

Questions are bridges to understanding.

LIFE DEMANDS IT

Life is constantly asking questions of us.

Who are you?

What do you believe?

What matters most?

What kind of person will you become?

What will you do with the time you have been given?

The person who asks good questions eventually discovers good answers.

WHAT THEN?

Ask.

Ask often.

Ask respectfully.

Ask courageously.

Ask relentlessly.

Ask until understanding arrives.

Because hidden inside every worthwhile life is a person who never stopped being curious.

And hidden behind many of life’s greatest answers…

Is a question waiting to be asked.

— Richie
Pearls for the Soul
when you feed the soul, you feed everything.
https://pearlsforthesoul.com