Could Questions be a Tool for Navigating the World?
Life sure would be a lot easier if we didn’t have to worry about being wrong… But, then again, where would the fun be in that?
Accepting that we don’t know everything about everything can be a hard concept to swallow for many of us. We worry about asking “stupid” questions, we find ourselves embarrassed by the prospect of looking silly or being mocked. The world around us has told us that being wrong or not knowing something is a kind of failure, when in reality, it’s simply an opportunity to ask questions and learn.
It can help to train ourselves to remember that we can’t know everything, and so we must be curious and inquisitive when we are interacting with the world around us. There is a certain amount of shame that some of us feel when we must ask questions, but we must train ourselves to nurture a positive feeling towards asking questions. It becomes a little bit easier when we start reminding ourselves that we aren’t expected to know everything right off the bat.
When I started university, I often found myself resisting asking questions even when I had them, for fear of raising my hand and everyone thinking I’d asked a silly question. By the end of my university career, I’d realized that when I asked questions, many others in the class were wondering the same thing but didn’t want to ask themselves! Imagine if we all stopped resisting the urge to be curious. The conversations we would have!
Of course, this isn’t to say that everyone will always be kind and understanding—there are so many different kinds of people in the world, after all, and we can’t presume to know how all of them are going to act. We can’t let this discourage us, but it does help to surround yourself with a strong, supportive group of people who are open to answering and asking questions.
We must accept that it is not necessary for us to know everything, and that most will not expect that of us. When you are engaging with friend groups, employers, coworkers, etc., pay attention to who is open to constructive criticism and asks questions openly. These kinds of relationships will foster a strong connection that allows people to learn from each other by asking and answering questions.
We all have different life experiences—different ways of viewing and experiencing the world, different backgrounds, and so on. We should all be taking advantage of the pool of knowledge we exist in and share ideas with each other. Become accustomed with asking questions all the time; no matter your position in life, you have something to learn and something to share.