Why do we begin to fear asking questions?
If you fear not having answers to the questions you might ask yourself, remember that one of the hallmarks of innovative problem solvers is that they are willing to raise questions without having any idea of what the answer might be. (Berger, 186 pag.)
How might we develop as questioners comfortable with uncertainty?
When you change one small thing and it works, it can help breed the confidence to change other things— including bigger ones. (Berger, 197 pag.)
If you don’t know, you don’t know. How often do we hear questions that show uncertainty? I don’t even know where to begin. I have no idea what question to ask. What if we offer actionable feedback, in the form of positive questions, to highlight what is known to get to what is not known? How might we bolster confidence and bravery to ask the next uncertain-of-the-answer question?
The main premise of appreciative inquiry is that positive questions, focusing on strengths and assets, tend to yield more effective results than negative questions focusing on problems or deficits. Strength-based questioning focuses on what is working in our lives— so that we can build upon that and get more out of it. (Berger, 190 pag.)
Summer Reading using VTR: Sentence-Phrase-Word: A More Beautiful Question Chapter 5: Questioning for Life
Usually, my choice of Sentence-Phrase-Word combinations connect to form an idea for me. In this case, experiment, should be my choice for “the word” from this chapter, particularly pages 198-199.
However, the word I keep coming back to is gratitude.
Happiness researchers such as Tal Ben-Shahar, author of Happier and Being Happy and a professor at Harvard University, believe it’s important to “cultivate the habit of gratitude.” Simply by asking, at the end of each day, What am I grateful for? and writing down the answers in a “gratitude journal,” people tend to be “happier, more optimistic, more successful, more likely to achieve their goals,” according to Ben-Shahar. (Berger, 190 pag.)
What if this is an essential to learn? How might we focus on taking actions to help ourselves and others be happier, more optimistic, more successful than we were yesterday?
Berger, Warren (2014-03-04). A More Beautiful Question: The Power of Inquiry to Spark Breakthrough Ideas . BLOOMSBURY PUBLISHING. Kindle Edition.
Experiments in Learning by Doing 