The Answers Don't Matter

but the questions do

If you’re anything like me, dear reader, you’re often in search mode.

Whether it's seeking ways to improve your life, learning ways to maximize your effectiveness and manage your workday, or hunting for the answers to any number of oh-so-elusive questions.

• What is the meaning of life?

• What is my purpose?

• Why does the dog smell that way?

You know, that driving quest for answers to life's eternal conundrums. 

But the answers don't matter. Really. There are several possible answers to every question; ways of doing things that work for some, but not others.

When we have arrived at the question, the answer is already near.

                                                                                                  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Just the Facts

Facts are contingent upon situations. Truths are relative. Even broadly accepted theories like the Universal Theory of Gravity are open to vigorous debate.

Perhaps you’re searching for an answer to what's the best:

• fitness method (interval training or yoga)?

• Hairstyle (mullet or dreadlocks)?

• Mode of transportation (car, plane, train, or bicycle)?

We know the slightly silly examples above can be verified, one better than another to a degree, but in large part, most choices are preference (especially the mullet—no science, there).

The important thing is to keep asking questions.

Now let's take that questioning a step further and ponder a bit deeper: a technique, a process, or an idea you'd typically write-off at first glance. Something a bit more philosophical than hairstyles. How about religion, politics, and lifestyle? That should keep you busy for a while!

Answers don't matter as much as your ability and willingness to see things from different perspectives.

Willingness to change your mind about long-held, but outdated, beliefs will open your mind to new possibilities. Be willing to question your assumptions and you’ll grow in wisdom and awareness. It's easy to stay in antiquated mindsets, but try pushing your grey matter and empathy skills and see where that might take you. 

When I feel a strong opinion or belief rise up in me, I know it's an opportunity for examination. 

I step back and consider why I think the way I do, why I hold that belief, and weigh how attached I am to the concept. It's not always the most comfortable process to go through, and I certainly don't do it each time (I'd be examining my stuff all day). However, it does yield some enlightening results and allows me to make shifts over time, by reaffirming viewpoints that still work for me and discarding ones that no longer do.

So, your challenge is this: Grab something from your belief system and ask yourself how you came to that notion. Why you believe in its truth. How can you view this idea from another angle?

The practice of questioning yields a gift—the gift of flexing your critical thinking muscles—a workout we can all benefit from.

Tell me: what belief, ideology, or relative truth do you cling to? Are you ready to let it go? Why or why not?

(I wrote a version of this article in 2012—that’s right, forever ago. Updated and still relevant in this time of great divide.)

GOOD LINKS:

• The Ultimate Guide to COVID-19 Travel Restrictions. A free and open-source project by TourHero.

• For Successful Aging, Pick Up the Pace or Mix It Up. Older people who cycled for exercise walked more efficiently than people whose primary exercise is placid walking.

• Morning person? Evening person? Or in-between? Find out your Chronotype.

—> If you enjoy life: examined and want to show appreciation, you can buy me a coffee (hooray, coffee). Thank you for your support, it makes this little newsletter possible—and thanks to those who’ve already bought me a cuppa!