How Questions Challenge Mindsets and Get You Out of Ruts

In part 1 of this series on the Value of High-quality Questions, we examined how questions unlock and open doors that would otherwise remain closed. Today, we discuss how questions challenge mindsets and get you out of ruts. And nothing illustrates this to me better than a story that the greatest man that ever lived told.

It is the undated incident recorded in the New Testament book of Luke 15.11-22. It is the popular story of the Prodigal Son.

The subject was the hot-headed and impetuous younger son of a very wealthy estate owner. While the father was still alive, hale and hearty, he demanded that his share of the estate be handed over, ostensibly so he could start building his own wealth early.

But as soon as he received his own share of the estate, he converted everything to cash and travelled abroad. Upon arrival at his destination, he settled in the equivalent of Hollywood, where he became a popular face in the pubs.

And as a popular saying goes, “a fool and his money are soon parted”. Very soon he had lost all the money. And also, the friends, his fair-weather friends. His life took a downward spiral. The more he tried to recover, the worse things got.

Finally, things got so bad that he was reduced to a farm hand, eating with the pigs, a very pathetic state for a Jew. More so, for the son of a rich man, who was himself once rich, not too long before.

As the story goes, one day, in a moment of sober reflection, he came to his senses. Then he asked himself a question: “How many of my father’s slaves have enough food to eat and to throw away, and here am I wasting away in starvation?”

Was that a high-quality question? Yes! Why? Because it took him to the root of his problem, the takeoff point to his life of misery! Then, he provided himself a brutally honest answer. He said to himself, “I will get up and go back to my father! And then he got up and went. And the rest, as they say, is history.

You see, the First Law of holes, they say, is: When you are in one, stop digging!

That implies a return to the starting point. That is the exact reason that many are not willing to ask themselves the right questions; they are not willing to go back and start over again, howbeit in the right way. Consequently, they keep going round and round in circles.

Those who dare to ask themselves the tough questions of life, and are courageous enough to provide honest answers, invariable find their way out of darkness into light.

What kind of questions are you willing to ask yourself?

Let me assure you: asking yourself high-quality questions will save your marriage, turn around your career, accelerate recovery, and save your life!

But some are so afraid of the answers they would receive and the demand that those answers would make that they are not willing to ask themselves those tough questions. Consequently, they just drift or coast along on the “Failure Expressway”.

Here are some suggested questions you could start with as they are relevant to your situation:

• What would become of my career or business in the next 5, 10, 15, or 20 years given the trends in IT, if I do not improve myself?
• What would become of my marriage 5, 10, 15, or 20 years from now if I do not improve my relationship with my spouse?
• What would happen to my health in the next 5, 10, 15, or 20 years if I continue with the same diet and lifestyle? ·

You can add yours, as necessary.

If you are interested in taking your marriage to the next level, join us as we ask our guests who are outstanding couples questions so we can learn. View previous episodes here.

Be blessed.