Life Changing Questions

“The quality of your questions determines the quality of your answers.”― Veli Ndaba – ‘The Engineered Mind – to WIN’

The best way to think and get your creative juices flowing is through asking good quality questions.  So, this shows that asking questions is the science that one has to develop in order to live a fulfilling life. If the teacher gives you all the information and yours is to memorize it for tests and exams, then, beyond those exams that you have passed, you missed on education. This is the reason why we have a lot of highly learned people in the world who are unfortunately so uneducated. They rely on memory which is so full of untested theory. Albert Einstein said, “Any fool can know. The point is to understand.”

True education is the ability to think and think through what the books are saying; think through what the lecturers are saying; and think through what the authors are saying. Memorizing the facts doesn’t help one to think. Education is organized thought developed in the subconscious mind and built on consciousness. Studying is you trying to make your intellectual reasoning to be in the same line of thought or to make your reasoning to function in the same line of thought with the author whose book you are reading. 

A good student therefore must learn to interpret the words used in the book they read or else they will not have access to real education. Education is the ability to think, process the ideas and thoughts that flow into the mind. Education is not imitating others or following others to do the things that they do. This means it involves curiosity and ability to ask the right questions. It involves the eyes of an artist; the ears of a musician; the insight of a genius; and the tools of an engineer. 

The ability to ask quality questions is a greatest asset that helps you see beyond what your natural eyes see, to see things in your mental world. This asset helps you see things that most people don’t see. Curiosity and ability to ask questions is truly what determines ones’ quality of education. Success therefore is in the student and not in the school. Likewise, greatness is in the student and not in their books. 

Ralph Waldo Emerson said it succinctly, “A great man is always willing to be little.” This to me is a trait of a good student of life. Always willing to humble himself and continually learn from everything around him. This is understanding that education may be gotten formally and informally. Society is a school and life itself is a teacher. The whole world is also a school where no single individual masters all the courses therein. 

Quality questions change the way to look at things and help you grow rather than memorizing what you’ve been fed. Yes, with your memorized ‘knowledge’, you’ll pass those exams but you’ll never be truly educated. This skill of asking good quality questions helps you to catch up with the trends of the world and to remove your eyes from who you are today and focus them on who you’re becoming or who you could become, because it’s who you become that will make all the difference in your future. Your future cannot exist outside who you have developed yourself into.  

Here are five questions that can help you get started on this journey of developing your curiosity and thinking and unleash your greatness: 

1.   “If I had the confidence and self-esteem, what would I do?” Then, there’s your answer, that’s what you need to do.

2.   A year from now, what will I wish I had done today? 

3.   What must I do more of?

4.   What must I do less of?

5.   What must I stop altogether because it’s no longer serving the purpose?

The skill of asking good quality questions can be learned and developed like any other skill. So, there’s no excuse why you shouldn’t get started with it because it will surely set you apart. 

Veli Ndaba is a Professional and Motivational Speaker, Life-Coach and Neuro Linguistic Programming Practitioner, Author of three books (You Are Born to Win, Your Dream is Calling You and SWITCH ON!), Newspaper Columnist and Entrepreneur. To book him to speak at your next event or to help you and your team unleash your greatness, contact him on [email protected] , www.velindaba.com or +27 83 304 9773