Why Is This Important to You?
How the Right Question Can Change Your Life.
If you want to look clever, always have an answer.
If you want to gain understanding, learn to ask better questions.
A year ago I started training to become a coach and it has radically shifted the way I look at communication.
People tend to put more value on the answer than the question, not understanding that the right question unlocks the answers that they need.
One of my favorite questions is “Why is this important to you?”
Living life on autopilot is something that most people struggle with, settling into routines and ways of doing things.
They embark on projects and chase shiny objects without questioning the value that those things actually bring to their lives.
Taking the time to ask the question forces you to pause and evaluate the pursuit you are considering. That project, that relationship, that thing you want to do but are hesitating about….why is it important to you?
Why is it important enough to spend time on it? To sacrifice comfort and weekends for it?
Once you have that clarity, it determines the next steps and your path suddenly becomes much clearer. Sometimes people shy away from asking the question because the answer may not be what they want to hear.
Maybe what you’re doing isn’t actually that important to you? It may mean a change of direction, or force you to admit that you never really wanted it in the first place.
It’s not pleasant to fail at something, but at least you can learn from it. It’s much scarier to succeed at the wrong thing, asking the right question can save you a lot of heartache.
What are some of your favorite questions?
