The purposes of a man’s heart are deep waters,
but a man of understanding draws them out.
– Proverbs 20:5 (NIV)
Recently, I’ve been working on improving my attention management. My friend, David Delp, has been teaching me his system called “Designing a Balanced Life“. It’s true his approach is great, but one of the unexpected benefits I’ve had from the conversations is the questions he asks. Many times he asks questions I had never considered.
All problem solving starts with a question. We break it down by asking other questions that can help us arrive at the answer. The question is the frame for the answers we paint. Many collaborators help us by painting solutions we hadn’t considered, but I’m increasingly convinced that collaborations are even more powerful when others pose questions we can’t (or won’t).
This affects our personal life as well. When we share our lives with our friends and family, they often pose questions that bring clarity to our own thinking. Without this, we usually get stuck asking the same unanswered question over and over again. Or simply give up on even answering.
There is much that veils our ability to perceive and others can help open the veil. out. David often asks me challenging questions and I’m the better for it. We need each other to help us in exploring not only the solutions to our problems, but also the questions we should be asking.
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