What happens when you ask a Crazy Question?
Loren Murfield, Ph.D Disruptive Thinker, Author, Speaker, Filmmaker
Thinking Bigger and Reaching Higher to do the Impossible
You already know that brainstorming is critical for innovation. It is in that sharing of ideas that essential breakthroughs are made.?
Often, breakthroughs occur when someone asks an absurd question. While they may initially appear ridiculous and distracting, these outrageous questions free us to think bigger and reach higher than we would have otherwise.?
The audacious questions serve to jolt us loose from our limitations.?
In this post, we look at how you can ask the crazy question that frees your team from the confines of stagnant thinking to create the disruptive innovation you seek.?
In my executive coaching business, Murfield Coaching, I help leaders solve significant problems through disruptive thinking. So, it shouldn’t be surprising that I ask myself crazy questions that push me farther than most would expect. This story is a perfect example.
As I was about to turn 57, my wife suggested we run a 5K (3 miles). We weren’t runners and were never very fast. But, since it was part of her office activities, I said, “Sure, if you want to.” (Like any smart husband would.)
Three years later, when I was about to turn 60, I was running another 5k in a neighboring town when I had a crazy question go through my mind.?“How fast and how far can I run?”?That was crazy because of my age. ?
Why would anyone that age want to see how far or how fast they could run? Should I have given up on that idea by then??
Don't Ask "Why?" Ask "Why Not?"
The answer is simple. I love to explore the unknown. Expanding my mind and abilities keeps me active, alive, and appreciating life. Instead of asking, "Why?" I have learned to ask, "Why not?"?
That fall we ran a 10K (6 miles) and the following spring a 15K (9 miles), continuing the same training we used in our “Couch to 5K” program, only with progressively longer runs.?
That’s when I asked my wife the next crazy question.?“Would you like to run a half marathon?”
“It’s only another 5K, so why not?” she replied. So we did.
But the next question wouldn’t be so well received.
“Would you ever consider running a marathon?”
I didn’t even get the question out before I heard a firm “NO!” She explained that it wasn’t just another 5k but twice the length of a half marathon.
In other words, the answer was,?“ARE YOU CRAZY?”
领英推荐
Training for a half marathon requires 2 rigorous months while training for a full marathon requires 4 - 5 months. “Why would we want to do that?”
Others agreed, knowing we were still slow, even in our age group. "Why go through all that work if you will not win?
Winning wasn't the issue. Instead, it was all about curiosity in exploring the unknown. It was about becoming instead of settling, growing instead of stagnating. ?
But then something exciting happened.?
After one of our half-marathons, while in the glow of a big accomplishment, my wife looked at me and said,?“Let’s do it.” By running progressively longer races, she created a desire to tackle what many consider the most difficult distance.?
We trained for months, churning out mile after mile, driven by dreams of completing a marathon, which only about 1% of the population does.
On January 7, 2018, just a few years after asking that crazy question, we did what we never thought possible:?We ran a marathon. Then, in 2022, I challenged myself again, this time to run six marathons in the year I turned 68.?
Who does that, especially someone who is slow??
The Crazy Result
Asking that initial crazy question triggered a re-engineering of my thinking. Instead of cautiously asking "why?" and settling for ordinary, I have opened the door to incredible new opportunities.?
While this post may seem more about personal than professional development, think again. Asking crazy questions in any business expands our thinking, allowing us to see more opportunities, solve our persistent problems, and make breakthroughs.?
I am Loren Murfield, helping clients to Think Bigger, Reach Higher, and Do the Impossible.?
Read the entire story to better understand how asking crazy questions leads to breakthrough results. Click here to read.?