The Art Of Asking
Brief: This post goes over the importance of asking questions.
The ability to ask questions is one of the things that makes humans, human. Chimpanzee’s carry 97% of our exact DNA and although many have been trained to understand language, patterns and even answer basic questions but never has a chimpanzee, or any other creature, ever been documented asking a question. Our need to solve problems and answer questions plays an imperative role in our evolution and rapid advances in many fields. Questions are a good thing, they help us learn and grow, but for some reason people oftentimes keep their queries to themselves. I personally believe that having a question and not asking it is one of the biggest diservices you can bring upon yourself. If you’re smart enough to ask yourself the question then you’re deserving of the answer. If you don’t agree or still need convincing I have a couple questions for you.
What are you afraid of?
There is nothing to be afraid of. People love talking about what they know. That’s why we have documentaires, books, Ted Talks, podcasts conferences etc. Asking questions is a mutually beneficial transaction, they get to teach and you get to learn. People avoid asking questions because they don’t want to come off as stupid or ignorant. I hate to break it to you, but if you don’t ask the questions, you will never know the answers and not knowing it what makes you ignorant. Ask away!
What do you wish you knew?
There are 2 kinds of people in this world, those who love “How It’s Made” and those who hate it. If you don’t know what im talking about, there is a show called “How It’s Made” and every episode it shows you….how something is made. Now that may sound very boring but if you watch, it can actually be very interesting. The world is full of things we use on a day to day basis but have no idea how they work. Some people are very curious and love to learn something new every episode and some people just don’t care. Curiosity is something that we develop in spades as a child and then some of us let it go while others hold on. For those who let go and just live in their bubble, isn’t there something out there that you wish you knew? Another language, what it’s like to travel, how your car works or maybe, just maybe, how its made. Don’t let this big world be the great unknown. You have access to an endless amount of information and never forget, knowledge is power.
Do you think you’re the only one?
It doesn’t matter what your question is, odds are somebody in the world has exactly the same problem and needs exactly the same answer as you. If you’re in a classroom and you don’t understand something, odds are you’re not the only one. Some people may not care or even be paying attention but asking a question and obtaining the answer has the ability to not only benefit you but multiple people. There truly are no stupid questions.
I hope this has in some way helped you realize the importance of problem solving and asking questions. We are who we are as a people because of our ability to question everything. Keep chasing your cloud.
