I’m in love with questions. I’m excited about excitement. A few years ago I wasn’t excited. I was spending time and energy, but I wasn’t getting enough energy back. I asked myself why I wasn’t getting a good return. This question led to more questions. Now I can see that I was responding too much. I was answering too many emails, standing in too many lines, sitting through too many boring meetings. I’ve taken a more active role in my life with questions. Questions have helped me navigate information overload and get excited about my life.
###Information Overload We are bombarded with information. There have never been more ideas competing for our attention. As a result, it’s never been more important to know what I want to do with my time. If I’m not clear on what I want, there are plenty of ideas that will hijack me, steer me and lead me down paths. Questions forge their own paths.
###Questions At first, I asked myself broad questions like, “What’s most important to me?” Answer: My family. Being a solid husband and father is at the top of my list. “How do I improve my family life?” followed. I thought about it for a while and realized that I needed more energy. If I’m stressed, tired and grumpy then I’m not present, and I’m not making the most of my time with family. “How do I get more energy?” Eat better, sleep more, exercise regularly. Questions leading to questions.
Another question I asked is “What do I want to be doing everyday?” I realized I want to be making art every day, creating things. Art gets me excited.
###Excitement If you’re like me, you do your best work when you’re excited. I feel engaged when I’m excited. I want to be excited every day. Down with boredom! I spent thirteen years in TN public schools. That’s tens of thousands of hours of boredom that I’ll never get back. No more!
###Priorities Through questions I’ve been able to navigate information overload and get a clearer sense of what I want. I’ve settled on a pyramid of priorities. It sounds crazy because it is crazy. It’s a priorities pyramid!
- Health is the most important thing. Without health, other things suck.
- I want to have meaningful Relationships with those around me.
- Art is a luxury. I want to make as much art as possible while I’m alive.
This is an extraordinary time to be alive because we have access to so much information. It’s empowering to have all this access at our fingertips. Information overload isn’t a bad thing when I know what I want.
Questions have helped me navigate information overload and get excited again.
If questions interest you, make a little time each week and ask yourself questions. Write down the answers.
Question authority. Question the status quo. Question your parents. Question religion. Question politics. Question art. Question music. Question the Beatles. Question the Stones. Question yourself.
published .
Next Post : The Airforce Proximity Effect
Prev Post : Hack Your Enthusiasm with Questions.
All Posts