Start with a Question

Are you trying to come up with an idea, or solution to a problem, but feeling stuck? Have you tried phrasing it as a question?

Here’s what I mean. If you say I don’t have my paper written that is due tomorrow, that signals to your mind, and anyone around you, that you’re simply sharing a fact. Instead, if you were to ask, what should I do, I have a paper due tomorrow, and I haven’t started yet. Now, your mind knows that it needs to take action, and if you said this to others around you, they may also help you to find a solution.

Questions signal to our brain that there is action to take, and kicks our minds into gear.

Asking one question doesn’t guarantee you’re doing that you’re going to find a solution, but it does get you headed in the right direction.

In order to find helpful solutions, it’s important to ask the write question, otherwise, you might spend all of time solving for something that isn’t the real problem.

So how do you find the right question?

You find the right question, by asking more of them. Let’s give it a try. Start by asking why questions, answering them, and then turning the answer into another why question.

Q: Why do you have a paper that is due tomorrow that you haven’t started yet?

A: Because I didn’t write the assignment down and I totally forgot about it, until my friend mentioned it today.

Q: Why didn’t you write it down?

A: Because I don’t have one place where I write everything down, I thought that I would remember.

Q: Why don’t you have one place to write everything down?

A: Because I haven’t found anything that works for me. I sometimes use my phone, but we aren’t allowed to have our phones out in class.

Q: What have you tried that hasn’t worked for you? (Notice here that the question switched to a what, that’s okay and will happen sometimes, this often is a signal of a good place to stop)

If you prefer to learn via video, I go through the questioning process below:

Now you have a list of questions to explore that may be easier to solve and address the real issue that is preventing you from getting your paper written on time. This series of questions may not be able to help you finish your paper that is due tomorrow, but it will help you to develop a solution so that you don’t have this same problem again. IF what you really want to solve for is how to get your paper finished, you need to ask some different questions.

Whether you’re trying to write a paper, come up with an idea for an art project, or figure out how to pay for college, you’ll be able to find more ideas if you start by asking a question instead of making a statement.