Answers vs. Questions

Answers appear definitive.

Answers demand a conclusion.

Answers provide the illusion of certainty.

Answers imply a linear path to an end result.

Answers are the headline and the executive summary.

Answers end the conversation no matter how interesting it is.

Answers can be easy: ask the right “expert” for them and you can skip the bothersome effort required.

Answers mean nothing without the struggle of the question. In fact, answers are pointless without the question.

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Questions are open.

Questions set context.

Questions are humble.

Questions invite discovery.

Questions indicate a gap to fill.

Questions build understanding.

Questions are the bridges to empathy.

Questions mark the beginning of the journey.

Questions are the foundations of all knowledge.

Questions often beget more, and better, questions.

Questions create space in the mind for the answers to go; they afford space.

Questions are really where the struggle and work is done. In fact, without the question, there’s nothing.

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I sometimes think the world is made up of one set of folks who prefer questions, and those who prefer answers.

Hopefully you can tell which I prefer.

Photo by Andre Hunter on Unsplash