3 simple questions to improve your life

Intellectual Banter: Episode #24

Welcome to the new members who’ve joined us recently! 

If you’re new or missed the last edition, catch up here. And thank you for giving me your time, I appreciate it. On to to today’s piece:

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I suck at asking good questions.

The ones I do ask are vague. So the answers I get are equally vague.

They’re useless and don’t tell me much I didn’t already know. And I waste a chance to learn from someone smarter than me.

So while there might not be any “bad” questions, there are definitely “better” questions you can ask.

The answers to which will force you to pause and introspect. Unlock an epiphany for you. Make you learn something new about yourself.

“WTF am I doing with my life?!” is a prime example.

But that’s a generic one.

Here are a three practical questions I’ve seen (and tried) that can bring about immediate change if you reflect and act on them:

What am I doing now that I should NOT be doing?

Procrastination is a universal disease.

You know the feeling - you just have to sort out your entire email inbox right when you should start working. Or you keep “preparing” by binge watching YouTube tutorials instead of actually trying things out.

Yeah, I don’t think that helps.

But this question might.

Very high (if not the highest) ROI question you can reflect on.

The more honest you are with yourself, the better your results. So maybe don’t fart around with it.

Also has a kickass cousin: what am I not doing now that I should be doing?

(H/t: Dickie Bush)

What would this look like if it were easy?

Are you making your shit more complex than it needs to be?

I’ve felt overwhelmed and stressed more times than I can count. Who knew leaving your job to be self employed would be more stressful?

But it’s nearly always my monkey mind going overboard (I’m looking at you, comparison-with-others).

This question is a way to work backwards from your problem. A useful exercise to do when going overboard.

(H/t: Tim Ferris’ post - 17 questions that changed my life.)

Reflecting on your mistakes:

1. What went wrong?

2. What was I thinking at the time?

3. How can I prevent this from happening again?

(Yes, this is a series of questions. Get over it.)

We all make mistakes.

I beat myself up about it non stop. It’s the best, have you tried it?

Spending 10 focused minutes on these questions might be a frustrating, yet exponentially better use of your time though.

Done repeatedly, it’ll uncover patterns in your behavior. Then it’s on you to fix them. Might not happen overnight, but at least now you know where you’re headed.

For instance, mistake number 1: not using better questions to reflect upon, eh?

(H/t: David Perell’s thread.)

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Un-chuckle worthy quote

“Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple.” - Dr. Seuss

Unclear questions lead to complex answers. The targeted the question, the simpler the answer.

Till next week!

Your “ask better questions” friend,

Adi