This week, a fellow storyteller told me how she crafted her wonderful story by asking five questions. The questions came from the 2016 commencement speech of the Harvard Graduate School of Education, given by James Ryan. The five essential questions are:
Wait, what?
I wonder (if or why)...?
Couldn’t we at least...?
How can I help?
What really matters?
Ryan applied this to his life. He taught his graduates to apply them to their work as teachers and their personal lives as well. My fellow storyteller took it to another level and used them to shape her story.
There's that famous quote that says life is not about seeking the answers but asking the questions.
Do we do enough of that? Or do we bulldoze, blinders on, towards answers...usually the ones we want to hear?
Questions are harder than answers. It's the curvier road. Answers are the straight line.
Questions are how you know that people care for you. When your mother asks how's your day? When a friend asks if you believe a certain path is the one you want to be on?
Questions are how we shed certain realities, opinions, habits. When we ask if the language we use excludes others? When we ask who really makes the decisions?
Questions are how we dig for truth, about ourselves and others. When we ask what in our lives is actually just a means to an end? When we ask how can I be a contribution?
So seekers, what are the questions you ask yourself? Are they the questions that will help you thrive?
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