Tag: experience

Perspective

Questions

It’s logical that we ask questions when we want to understand something more deeply. Questions are the paint brush for the curious mind; a powerful tool used to create a clear picture.

I have deep relationship with the question phase of discovery. So much so that I felt slightly betrayed to discover that my method of asking questions may be limiting me.

I’ve realized that I could spend a lifetime absorbing the answer to a simple question and still feel unfulfilled. That’s because questions are not completed through the accumulation of answers from someone else’s experience, but are ultimately meant to lead us into our own experience.

There is a point where a question can transcend from being a scavenger hunt of answers, to being an immersion into experience. When this time comes, we have to be willing to let go of the question and enter into experience.

Perspective

That’s it?

Growing up the ninth of ten children was an interesting experience. It created an environment where I had very little formal training. This meant that most things, like tying my shoes or combing my hair, were learned through observation – and my determination to keep pace with older siblings also meant that this usually happened at an accelerated rate.

There were times when I would stall and internally refuse to learn something that seemed a bit more complicated than I thought I could handle. In these moments, I would create stories about why I couldn’t do it, until I was convinced that it would be avoided at all cost. Then, there would inevitably be a situation where I had to tackle my imaginary mountain, and afterwards I would usually think, that’s it?

As an adult, there are times when I create stories about that imaginary mountain. When I recognize the pattern, I do my best to summon enough courage to take action. And similar to my childhood experience, after I learn that new thing or take the difficult action, I often look back and think, that’s it?