The questions we should never stop asking

All languages are beautiful. There are words in each that draw us towards the beauty hidden within them. For me, some of the most fascinating words are also among the simplest: Why? What? Who? Where? When? How?

They are probably among the words every child discovers intuitively while beginning to explore the world around them. Why is the sky blue? Where does the sun go at night? How does an aeroplane remain in the air? Who decided that this should be called a table? The questions may appear absurd to an adult. To the child, they are perfectly reasonable. The universe is new and deserves an explanation.

Then, somewhere along the way, something changes. A parent, tired after a long day, responds impatiently to the tenth question. “Don’t ask so many questions.” Nothing may change immediately. But repeat it often enough and the child begins to understand that curiosity can occasionally be inconvenient.

School can reinforce the lesson. There are portions to complete, examinations to prepare for and correct answers to remember. A persistent child may continue asking questions, but gradually many learn that knowing the expected answer is often more rewarding than asking an unexpected question. Those who carry the habit into college encounter another set of boundaries. And when they enter the workplace, many discover that it can sometimes be easier to nod politely at the profound wisdom being dispensed by seniors than to ask a simple, “Why?”

Perhaps that is where organisations should worry. Every organisation says it wants innovation. Leaders speak about disruption, creativity and thinking differently. Yet all three require something much more elementary: an environment in which somebody can ask why something is being done in a particular way without being considered difficult. The person asking the question may be wrong. The existing practice may have perfectly sound reasons behind it. But explaining those reasons strengthens understanding. Occasionally, however, there may be no convincing answer beyond, “This is how we have always done it.” And that is precisely when a question becomes valuable.

Human progress has depended upon people who looked at what everyone else accepted and wondered why. Every discovery did not necessarily begin with a brilliant answer. Many began with an inconvenient question. And some changed the world simply by asking.

It is easy, of course, to expect children, students and younger colleagues to remain curious. Growing older has made me realise that the same expectation must apply to me. There is no embarrassment in asking my wife or my daughters a question to which I do not know the answer. Someone younger recently reminded me that I may not have all the answers. One of the privileges of growing older should be the freedom to say, “I don’t know. Let me find out.”

That is why I feel happy when a child asks me: Why? What? Who? Where? When? How?

I may not always know the answer. Sometimes there may not even be one. But providing an answer may be less important than ensuring that I do not make the child regret having asked the question.

And occasionally, instead of answering, I may need to ask the question with the child. Growing older may have given me answers to some questions I once asked, but it has also shown me how many more remain. Perhaps wisdom lies not merely in accumulating answers, but in retaining the curiosity — and the humility — to keep looking for them.

The writer is a founder of Kala - Krazy About Literature And Arts, and is an author, speaker, coach, arbitrator and strategy consultant; Views presented are personal.