Asking Questions

There are some days when I ask a million questions and chatter all day. Other days I spend in complete silence. Lately, I have become more aware of this dichotomy, and even feel a little self-conscious of it. Rather than try to radically change my behavior, I have been meditating on the motivations and meanings of one of my core mantras – Ask Questions. I was surprised by what came up.

Ask Questions is a lot more than a simple self-reminder to ask questions when they come up… To me Ask Questions has a myriad of meanings that encourage me to:

– Be an Active Listener.

– Be Bold. Speak up when the room is silent.
– Be Clear.
– Be Damn Certain! Do you really have all the answers?
– Be Ernest & Engaged. The response reflects the attitude with which the question is asked.
– Be Focused. Get to the point! Rambling = Trouble.
– Be Genuine. If you don’t want to know, don’t ask.
– Be Humble. What can you learn today?
– Be Inquisitive. Think inside, outside, and around the box.
– Be Jazzed!
– Be Kind. How is your loved-one/co-worker/friend/neighbor doing?
– Be Led by the conversation, but also be willing to re-focus on the topic at hand.
– Be Meditative. Take the time to digest what has been said.
– Be Neutral.
– Be Open to open-ended questioning.
– Be Precise. Communication is a complicated business – What are you really asking?
– Be Quiet. Let the answer be answered before you ask another question.
– Be Rational & Irrational. Can you break the logic?
– Be Still – it helps focus on the speaker.
– Be Tenacious. You might not get an answer on the first or second or even tenth try.
– Be Up to Date with your facts, figures, and background knowledge.
– Be Voracious!
– Be Willing to explore. The journey of discovery often teaches more than the answer ever will.
– Be X-acting.
– Be Yourself.
– Be Zeus. Some days you don’t need to ask. You just know.

What does Asking Questions mean to you?