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July 10 - August 11, 2019
generally, in life, if you’re not moving forward, you’re moving back.
What’s truly worth doing, whether you fail or succeed?
How would you like things to be different in your life?”
by employing the right kinds of questions—open, curious, slightly provocative at times, but never judgmental—one could have a meaningful dialogue with people who are very different from you, culturally, politically, temperamentally.
if the questioning and the discussion went deep enough, they might begin to resolve conflicts and problems.
To Peavey, a question could serve as the lever to pry open the stuck lid on a can of paint. “If we have a longer lever, or a more dynamic question,” she wrote, it can also be used to “really stir things up.” In this metaphor, what’s being stirred are the ideas and potential answers that people already have in their heads; they just need a little mixing to help those thoughts come together.
If we don’t agree on an answer yet, can we at least come to terms on a question?
The only way to get any traction on polarizing issues is to attract people on both sides, “not bully them into submission.”
questions—if worded sensitively—can show respect to both sides of an issue, invite participation, and open up conversation.
“create some habit that makes it easier to get out of your bubble. Follow someone you disagree with on Twitter.”
we should also question the views of those with whom we disagree—yet with an open, curious mind: Why might they see the issue this way? Why do I see it differently? What assumptions are we each operating under?
What are the odds I’m wrong? As Corning points out, just pausing every once in a while to ponder this question can provide a check on our natural tendency to be overly certain of our own views.
improved communication in his family just by making time for regular weekly meetings—during which the same three questions were considered each time by the group: What went well in the family this past week? What could we do better? What things will we commit to working on in the coming week?
families create their own “mission statements,”
Encore.org movement offers support, job leads, fellowships, handbooks, and classes, readying millions of longer-living boomers to be a vital workforce for change.
Edward Witten puts it, a question that’s hard enough to be interesting, but realistic enough that you have some hope of answering it.
to play it safe and thereby risk everything.
