Beautiful Questions

01/29/2015

In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities. In the expert’s there are few.
Suzuki Roshi

"A beautiful question... can be thought of as an ambitious, yet actionable, question that can begin to shift the way we think about something — and can serve as a catalyst to bring about change," writes Warren Berger in his Fast Company article.

"...All of us can benefit by grappling with ambitious questions that encourage us to step back and consider possible ways to reimagine our lives or reinvent our careers. By asking, for example, 'How might I reposition myself in response to changes happening in my industry?,' or 'How might I use my own strengths to tackle a specific problem impacting my community?,' you set in motion a process that can lead to profound change.

"That may surprise some because we don’t usually equate 'asking a question' with 'taking action.' But just by putting an ambitious question out there in front of you, you begin to engage with it. A few years back, a fascinating University of Illinois study found that when people are trying to motivate themselves to do something, questions actually work better than statements or commands. In other words, asking 'Will I do X?' or 'How might I do X?' is more motivating than declaring 'I will do X!' The researchers found that articulating a challenge as a question had the effect of getting people to immediately start thinking about that challenge: why it might be worth doing, how it might be accomplished."

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